Premium
Changes in Na, K, Ca, Mg and Al content of submersed leaf litter, related to ingestion by the amphipod Gammarus pulex (L.)
Author(s) -
CHAMIER ANNECAROLE,
SUTCLIFFE DAVID W.,
LISHMAN JEAN P.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1989.tb01357.x
Subject(s) - gammarus pulex , pulex , zoology , ingestion , chemistry , plant litter , environmental chemistry , litter , magnesium , periphyton , amphipoda , botany , gammarus , streams , nutrient , biology , ecology , crustacean , biochemistry , computer network , daphnia , organic chemistry , computer science
SUMMARY. 1. Changes in the amounts of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Al in fallen leaves of oak, alder and mat grass were measured during 13 weeks of submersion in seven streams differing in pH and ionic content. 2. In the first 2 weeks, Na, K and Mg leached from the leaves, but in the following weeks there was a net increase of Al, K and Mg and, in some instances, Na and Ca. Increases of K and Mg were relatively larger in circumneutral streams whereas the greatest increases of Al occurred in acid streams. Net gains are attributed to absorption of cations from water by saprophytic micro‐organisms degrading the leaves, direct adsorption of Al on to leaf tissues ‐ especially in acid streams ‐ and capture of small particles of magnesium and aluminium silicates (clays). 3. Daily ingestion of elements was calculated as a percentage of whole body contents in Gammarus pulex (L.) and compared with daily loss rates. Leaf litter may be an important source of some major elements for ionic balance in juvenile G. pulex and a major source for uptake of potentially toxic aluminium in acidic, soft waters.