Detritivores maintain stoichiometric homeostasis, but alter body size and population density in response to altitude induced stoichiometric mismatches

作者：Peng Zhang, Zheng Zhou, Weixin Liu, Donghui Wu, Stefan Scheu · 发表于：Geoderma · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.geoderma.2024.116897 · 被引用次数：12 · 研究领域：Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies、Ecosystem dynamics and resilience、Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

• Different functional groups within same taxon have diverse stoichiometric niches. • Stoichiometric niches vary among functional groups but not across elevations. • Stoichiometric mismatch between detritivores and resources changes with altitude. • Changes in stoichiometric mismatch with elevation affects body size and density. • Calcium, nitrogen, sodium and copper shape the body size and density of millipedes. Maintaining a balance between growth needs and available food resources is critical to the development of any organism. Ecological stoichiometry provides a theoretical basis for studying stoichiometric mismatches between organisms and their food resources. Recent studies have shown that detritivore taxa occupying different multidimensional stoichiometric niches (MSNs) exhibit different stoichiometric mismatch patterns. However, changes in stoichiometric mismatch patterns of different functional groups within the same taxon in response to changes in food resources are poorly understood. Here, we investigated changes in the stoichiometric mismatch between litter as major food resource and five functional groups of soil detritivores (millipedes; Diplopoda) for eleven elements along an altitudinal gradient from 800 to 1850 m on Changbai Mountain, Northeast China. We quantified MSNs and multidimensional stoichiometric mismatch patterns, and investigated changes with altitude and relationships with body size and population density. The concentration of chemical elements of...