2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

5/24/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Summer flower pulses: Catkin litter processing in headwater streams | Virtual Platform

Summer flower pulses: Catkin litter processing in headwater streams

The influences of inter- and intraspecific variation in leaf litter quality on aquatic food webs are important; however, there is also variation in the timing and type of organic matter inputs within a species based on plant phenophase, including litterfall and spring flowering, which may influence in-stream communities and ecosystem processes. We investigated how leaf and flower litters of a single willow shrub species (Salix sitchensis) influenced decomposition and invertebrate colonization in a headwater stream. We collected abscised willow catkins and leaves, measured initial chemistry, constructed and incubated litterbags for 5 weeks. We found significant differences between catkins and leaves, where catkins showed lower initial condensed tannins, less mass loss, and higher aquatic invertebrate colonization. Catkin structural complexity likely led to higher aquatic invertebrate abundance and diversity as well as altered community structure, indicating their unique contribution to stream ecosystems. While the ratio of reproductive inputs to leaves is low, we argue that the temporality of these two litter types may be important to aquatic-terrestrial organic matter processing, especially in the early summer to late autumn seasons.

Organic matter
Detritivore
Aquatic–terrestrial biodiversity

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Presenters/Authors

Iris Garthwaite (), Northern Arizona University, ig334@nau.edu;