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Bioenergetics of a stream “collector” organism, Tricorythodes minutus (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) 1, 2
Author(s) -
McCullough Dale A.,
Minshall G. Wayne,
Cushing Colbert E.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1979.24.1.0045
Subject(s) - mayfly , biology , dry weight , algae , energy budget , nitzschia , botany , respiration , assimilation (phonology) , lyngbya , ecology , zoology , cyanobacteria , nutrient , phytoplankton , linguistics , philosophy , genetics , bacteria , nymph
The energy budget of a fine‐particle collector organism, Tricorythodes minutus Traver (Ephemeroptera: Tricorythidae), was determined under conditions (flow, substratum, temperature) representative of its natural habitat. Digestion time (gut clearance) was rapid (30 min). Ingestion values ranged widely: 33–220 µg dry wt·mg dry wt −1 ·h −1 (= wW·h −1 ), depending on the type of food provided. Assimilation rates were lowest ∼2 µ g ash‐free dry wt·mg dry wt −1 ·h −1 (= aW·h −1 ), with mixed diatoms, intermediate with the blue‐green alga Anabaena (∼23), and high with the blue‐green Lyngbya (∼61) and with a pure culture of Nitzschia (∼62). Assimilation efficiencies showed a much narrower spread, being 33, 34, and 57% for mixed diatoms, blue‐green algae, and Nitzschia. A mean respiration rate of 2.51 µ l O 2 ·mg dry wt −1 ·h −1 was derived for T. minutus at 20°C. Growth, estimated from length‐weight relationships, was 4.5 wW·h −1 . The instantaneous growth rate for T. minutus (0.126) is higher than those reported for any other mayfly (0.034–0.060) except Tricorythodes atratus (0.153). Cast skins accounted for over 30% of the total production (G + Ex = 6.5 wW·h −1 ). Comparison with Stenonema pulchellum, the only other mayfly for which complete energy budget information is available, showed respiration rates to be similar and assimilation and growth of Tricorythodes to be 2.9 and 5.3 times higher. However, the major distinction between the two was the high ingestion rate for Tricorythodes compared with that for Stenonema (7 wW · h −1 ) .