Appendix 1

Average abundance (s.d.) (ind/m<sup>2</sup> ) of detritivore arthropods identified to taxonomic categories under the five tree species.


Physicochemical Foliar Traits Predict Assemblages of Litter/Humus Detritivore Arthropods http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.75076


5. Conclusions

14 Tropical Forests - New Edition

supporting Wardle's ideas).

Acknowledgements

Appendix 1

Average abundance (s.d.) (ind/m<sup>2</sup>

ries under the five tree species.

We expected that arthropod abundance, richness, and species as well as trophic composition would be differentially affected by the identity of the plant species. We found that the abundance of four arthropod orders was affected; also, total arthropod richness and species composition varied significantly specifically due to the response that detritivores had to physicochemical foliar traits (the only trophic group that differed among plant species). The CCA indicated that detritivore response is linked to aboveground nutritional content of plants. Wardle [3] suggests that the decomposing fauna is tightly associated to the detritus produced by plant species so that this association maximizes the decomposition and nutrient cycling. Therefore, differences in quality among plant species potentially influence litter-feeding arthropods. On the other hand, St. John et al. [42] found that mite assemblages were not affected by the identity of the grass species that mites inhabited neither in abundance, richness, or the composition. Our data support Wardle's ideas [3]. When pooled together our data suggest that litter arthropods in the lower trophic levels, such as detritivores (e.g., Acari, Psocoptera, and Diplopoda), perform better under specific plant species (therefore supporting Milcu et al.'s [34] findings) possibly because they are tied to resource quality (therefore

Funds for this research came from the CREST-Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation of the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras Campus, grant NSF-HRD-0206200 through a fellowship to MFBA. Also, funds and logistic support came from the CREST-Center for Applied Tropical Ecology and Conservation of the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras Campus and from the USDA Forest Service-International Institute of Tropical Forestry.

Class Order Morpho. Coccoloba Conocarpus Ficus Pisonia Tabebuia Arachnida Acari G-037 2880 (1642) 1390 (837) 850 (645) 770 (525) 920 (981) Arachnida Acari G-078 1380 (577) 470 (467) 1530 (1405) 680 (569) 2070 (2720) Arachnida Acari G-007 750 (924) 150 (212) 470 (353) 540 (734) 230 (206) Arachnida Acari G-003 610 (491) 190 (228) 830 (1136) 290 (318) 490 (409) Arachnida Acari G-207 530 (1470) 170 (254) 560 (1465) 100 (200) 1170 (2099)

) of detritivore arthropods identified to taxonomic catego-

15


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