Inedible Producers in Food Webs: Controls on Stoichiometric Food Quality and Composition of Grazers

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Issue Date
2006-05-01Author
Hall, Spencer R.
Leibold, Mathew A.
Lytle, David A.
Smith, Val H.
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Ecological stoichiometry and food web theories focus on distinct mechanisms that shape communities. These mechanisms, however, likely interact in ways that neither theory alone addresses. To illustrate, we show how a model that tracks flow of energy and nutrients through two producers and two grazers reveals two indirect, interrelated roles for “neutrally inedible” producers. First, inedible producers can exert controls over the nutrient content of edible producers and indirectly influence whether grazers are nutrient or energy limited. Second, through these controls, inedible producers can shape community assembly by excluding grazers that are weak competitors for nutrients contained in edible producers. A mesocosm experiment revealed patterns consistent with both predictions: high abundances of inedible algae were accompanied by low phosphorus contents of edible algae and low abundances of the grazer Daphnia. Both lines of inference suggest that interactions between stoichiometry and plant heterogeneity may shape plankton communities.
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Citation
Hall, Spencer R.; Leibold, Mathew A.; Lytle, David A.; Smith, Val H. (2006). "Inedible Producers in Food Webs: Controls on Stoichiometric Food Quality and Composition of Grazers." American Naturalist, 167(5):628-637. http://www.dx.doi.org/10.1086/503059.
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