The determinants of food chain lengths.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Reviews natural variation in the food chains of phytotelmata - water-filled plant-bodies. Here the role of disturbances may be the major factor in determining their food chains. Tadpoles of a small frog actually avoid the most productive systems. Larvae of a chironomid show a slight increase in numbers with level of energy input, but most importantly, it was slow to colonize - waiting for its prey (species of saprophagous chironomids) to attain approximately constant numbers and size. Data indicate that frequent disturbances would remove these predators from the system resulting in the 2 trophic level systems found in tree holes elsewhere.-from Authors
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Pimm, SL; Kitching, RL
Published Date
- January 1, 1987
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 50 / 3
Start / End Page
- 302 - 307
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0030-1299
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.2307/3565490
Citation Source
- Scopus