Abstract
Organismal N budgets were constructed for collector-gatherer macroinvertebrates and grazing snails of a Sonoran Desert Stream. Some 27% of ingested N was utilized in insect tissue production, 9-31% was excreted as ammonia, and the remainder (42-64%) was egested. Of N utilized in production, only 26% resulted in increased standing stock during a 20 d successional period. The remainder was lost to predation and non-predatory mortality (70%) or as emergent adult insects (4%). Snail excretion was 9-13%, and egestion was 26-39% of ingestion. Of N ingested by snails 50-68% was used in tissue production. As a percentage of N retained by the stream ecosystem, increased storage of N in insect biomass was 10%, insect emergence was 1%, and excretion recycled up to 70% of that amount back to the dissolved N compartment. Collector-gatherer macroinvertebrate influence on N dynamics, especially via recycling of excreted ammonia, increased over successional time. -from Author
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1884-1893 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Ecology |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - 1988 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology
Cite this
Role of macroinvertebrates in nitrogen dynamics of a desert stream. / Grimm, Nancy.
In: Ecology, Vol. 69, No. 6, 1988, p. 1884-1893.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Role of macroinvertebrates in nitrogen dynamics of a desert stream
AU - Grimm, Nancy
PY - 1988
Y1 - 1988
N2 - Organismal N budgets were constructed for collector-gatherer macroinvertebrates and grazing snails of a Sonoran Desert Stream. Some 27% of ingested N was utilized in insect tissue production, 9-31% was excreted as ammonia, and the remainder (42-64%) was egested. Of N utilized in production, only 26% resulted in increased standing stock during a 20 d successional period. The remainder was lost to predation and non-predatory mortality (70%) or as emergent adult insects (4%). Snail excretion was 9-13%, and egestion was 26-39% of ingestion. Of N ingested by snails 50-68% was used in tissue production. As a percentage of N retained by the stream ecosystem, increased storage of N in insect biomass was 10%, insect emergence was 1%, and excretion recycled up to 70% of that amount back to the dissolved N compartment. Collector-gatherer macroinvertebrate influence on N dynamics, especially via recycling of excreted ammonia, increased over successional time. -from Author
AB - Organismal N budgets were constructed for collector-gatherer macroinvertebrates and grazing snails of a Sonoran Desert Stream. Some 27% of ingested N was utilized in insect tissue production, 9-31% was excreted as ammonia, and the remainder (42-64%) was egested. Of N utilized in production, only 26% resulted in increased standing stock during a 20 d successional period. The remainder was lost to predation and non-predatory mortality (70%) or as emergent adult insects (4%). Snail excretion was 9-13%, and egestion was 26-39% of ingestion. Of N ingested by snails 50-68% was used in tissue production. As a percentage of N retained by the stream ecosystem, increased storage of N in insect biomass was 10%, insect emergence was 1%, and excretion recycled up to 70% of that amount back to the dissolved N compartment. Collector-gatherer macroinvertebrate influence on N dynamics, especially via recycling of excreted ammonia, increased over successional time. -from Author
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0024184055&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0024184055
VL - 69
SP - 1884
EP - 1893
JO - Ecology
JF - Ecology
SN - 0012-9658
IS - 6
ER -