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On the leaf litter community of the Amazonian blackwater stream Tarumazinho

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P. A. Henderson  and
I. Walker
P. A. Henderson
Affiliation:
Marine Biology Unit, CERL, Fawley Power Station, Southampton SO4 1TW, England
I. Walker
Affiliation:
Divisao de Bioecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa de Amazonia, CP 478, 69.000 Manaus, Brazil
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Abstract

A study of the benthic leaf litter community of the Tarumazinho, a central Amazonian stream (03° S, 60° W) is presented. This small tributary of the Rio Negro is of the blackwater type with a very low nutrient content. The sampling stations were towards the mouth of the tributary where it flowed through annually inundated forest and the work was carried out during the low water season. Previous studies concluded that these acid waters were of very low productivity and held impoverished faunas. However, this study showed that leaf litter banks held a diverse aquatic community of unexpectedly high biomass. This was because the banks supplied food and shelter and were available during the low water period when other habitats had dried out. The macrofauna was dominated by fish and shrimps. From an examination of gut contents a food web was produced. Primary consumers were found to take mainly detritus and fungi and it was concluded that allochthonous inputs were the main source of energy and nutrients. No feeding specialists were found and all the predators took prey from more than one trophic level.

Keywords

Amazoniabenthic communityblackwatersfreshwater ecologyfood webleaf litterstream macrofauna
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , February 1986 , pp. 1 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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