| Grant number: | 12/20249-0 |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |
| Start date: | February 01, 2013 |
| End date: | March 31, 2014 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Ecology - Theoretical Ecology |
| Principal Investigator: | Gustavo Quevedo Romero |
| Grantee: | Gustavo Henrique Migliorini |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil |
Abstract Detritus of organic matter (e.g., dead leaves) are the base of primary production in many ecosystems , such as streams and bromeliad phytotelmata. The functional traits of detritus may change the environment and influence the composition and diversity of associated community and trophic interactions. We will investigate if the diversity of detritus affects colonization by arthropods and other invertebrates, development of detritivorous insects and detritus processing on phytotelmata of the bromeliad Quesnelia arvensis. We will answer the folowing questions: (1) bromeliads receiving greater diversity of detritus support greater diversity of arthropod colonizers? (2) bromeliads receiving greater diversity of detritus favor the development of detritivorous insects? (3) bromeliads receiving greater diversity of detritus have faster processing of detritus by detritivores? We predict that: (1) bromeliads that receive greater diversity of detritus shows greater richness and abundance of species because more species can exploit the variety of available resources; (2) greater diversity of detritus favor a faster development of detritivorous insects, because there are a greater diverisity of resources; (3) the processing time of detritus will be less when the diversity is greater, because is greater the chance that there are positive attributes to the start of processing by detritivores. We will develop two experiments, (i) an experiment on the colonization of arthropods in tanks of bromeliads and (ii) and one about the development and processing of detritus in tubes with detritivorous insects of different taxonomic groups. This study will help to understand how communities and their interactions are influenced by the input of allochthonous resources from other environments, as well the role of detritus diversity on the functioning of these bromeliad ecosystems. | |
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