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dc.contributor.authorHall, Spencer R.
dc.contributor.authorLeibold, Mathew A.
dc.contributor.authorLytle, David A.
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Val H.
dc.date.accessioned2015-06-02T17:42:58Z
dc.date.available2015-06-02T17:42:58Z
dc.date.issued2006-05-01
dc.identifier.citationHall, 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.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1808/17986
dc.description.abstractEcological 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.en_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Chicago Pressen_US
dc.subjectCascade competitionen_US
dc.subjectCoexistenceen_US
dc.subjectEcological stoichiometryen_US
dc.subjectInedibilityen_US
dc.subjectLight:nutrient gradientsen_US
dc.subjectPlant defenseen_US
dc.titleInedible Producers in Food Webs: Controls on Stoichiometric Food Quality and Composition of Grazersen_US
dc.typeArticle
kusw.kuauthorSmith, Val H.
kusw.kudepartmentEcology and Evolutionary Biologyen_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1086/503059
kusw.oaversionScholarly/refereed, publisher version
kusw.oapolicyThis item does not meet KU Open Access policy criteria.
dc.rights.accessrightsopenAccess


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