Colonisation of Heliconia caribaea by aquatic invertebrates: resource and microsite characteristics

1. Colonisation of ephemeral aquatic habitats via oviposition by invertebrates may be influenced by a variety of factors, such as the quality of aquatic habitat and the characteristics of the surrounding terrestrial environment. The water‐holding bracts of Heliconia caribaea , a subtropical herb that produces ephemeral aquatic habitats, are colonised by a variety of aquatic invertebrates. To date, no experiments have been conducted to identify the cues that affect colonisation patterns via oviposition selection in Heliconia . 2. Artificial bracts were used to assess the influence of two types of resources found in bracts (plant produced carbohydrates and terrestrial snail faeces) on oviposition site‐selection by invertebrate taxa via a replicated factorial design at four locations in the Luquillo Experimental Forest of Puerto Rico, U.S.A. Eleven microsite characteristics thought to affect oviposition were measured for each experimental container. 3. Most taxa responded in a minor way to microsite characteristics, whereas site selection by the most numerically dominant groups (e.g. Syrphidae) were influenced principally by resources within artificial bracts. Overall, the greatest response by particular taxa was to the presence of snail faeces. At the community level, total abundance, richness, and evenness of invertebrates increased with increasing biomass of faeces. Variation in sugar produced a more complex response. 4. In general, the terrestrial matrix surrounding these aquatic habitats was only a secondary determinant of population and community attributes; the principal factor affecting site selection was the quality of the aquatic habitat.