Detritivores maintain stoichiometric homeostasis, but alter body size and population density in response to altitude induced stoichiometric mismatches
Peng Zhang,
Zheng Zhou,
Weixin Liu,
Donghui Wu,
Stefan Scheu
Affiliations
Peng Zhang
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
Zheng Zhou
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany; Corresponding authors at: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 4888, Shengbei Street, Changchun 130102, China (D. Wu); Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany (Z. Zhou).
Weixin Liu
Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Donghui Wu
Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China; Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, China; Corresponding authors at: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 4888, Shengbei Street, Changchun 130102, China (D. Wu); Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany (Z. Zhou).
Stefan Scheu
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany; Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Maintaining a balance between growth needs and available food resources is critical to the development of any organism. Ecological stoichiometry provides a theoretical basis for studying stoichiometric mismatches between organisms and their food resources. Recent studies have shown that detritivore taxa occupying different multidimensional stoichiometric niches (MSNs) exhibit different stoichiometric mismatch patterns. However, changes in stoichiometric mismatch patterns of different functional groups within the same taxon in response to changes in food resources are poorly understood. Here, we investigated changes in the stoichiometric mismatch between litter as major food resource and five functional groups of soil detritivores (millipedes; Diplopoda) for eleven elements along an altitudinal gradient from 800 to 1850 m on Changbai Mountain, Northeast China. We quantified MSNs and multidimensional stoichiometric mismatch patterns, and investigated changes with altitude and relationships with body size and population density. The concentration of chemical elements of litter varied significantly with altitude and this also was true for the trophic stoichiometric mismatch in millipedes. Furthermore, millipede stoichiometry homeostasis resulted in changing stoichiometric mismatches with changing litter element ratios. Element concentrations in litter, specifically N, Ca, P, Na and Cu, impacted the body size and population density of millipedes, with different elements correlating with individual functional groups. The results indicate that consumer-resource stoichiometric mismatches significantly affect detritivore populations, highlighting the predictive power of the multidimensional stoichiometry framework for detritivore community composition in context of environmental change.
