Feeding Interactions and Cycling of Peat in a Bog Lake
| Autor: | A. J. McLachlan, L. J. Pearce, J. A. Smith |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1979 |
| Předmět: |
Fragmentation (reproduction)
geography Peat geography.geographical_feature_category biology Ecology Chemistry digestive oral and skin physiology Pellets biology.organism_classification Animal science Midge Animal Science and Zoology Chironomus Colonization Cycling Bog Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Animal Ecology. 48:851 |
| ISSN: | 0021-8790 |
| DOI: | 10.2307/4198 |
| Popis: | (1) Peat particles enter a bog lake as a result of wave erosion of the shore. By the time the peat has settled from suspension, its calorific and protein content has increased by 23 and 200% respectively, due presumably to colonization by micro-organisms. (2) After passing through the gut of larvae of a dominant mud-dwelling midge, Chironomus lugubris, the rate of oxygen consumption of the peat (now in the form of faecal pellets) has risen by over 87%. The increase in microbial activity responsible for the change suggests that faecal pellets themselves are potentially valuable as food. (3) However, these pellets are not eaten by C. lugubris larvae. This is attributed to the relatively large size of the pellets and to their resistance to mechanical and microbial fragmentation. A change in dominant micro-organisms, from bacteria on peat particles, to fungi on the pellets, may also be a contributory factor. (4) Another common inhabitant of the lake, the cladoceran Chydorus sphaericus, seems to depend on the midge faeces for food, and its feeding activities break the pellets down to a size again usable by C. lugubris. Fragmentation is accompanied by yet another increase in nutritional value, indicated by a rise in bacterial numbers of about 30000 over faecal values. (5) The interaction between these two dominant animals is beneficial to both species. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|