NCEAS Project 3221

Detritus and dynamics of populations, food webs and communities

  • Moore, John
  • Dong, Quan

ActivityDatesFurther Information
Working Group13th—15th April 2001Participant List   Agenda
Graduate Student Internship1st September 2001—30th August 2002Participant List  
Working Group29th—3rd February 2002Participant List   Agenda
Working Group4th—9th November 2002Participant List   Agenda
Working Group24th—26th April 2003Participant List  
Working Group22nd—24th September 2005Participant List  
Working Group8th—11th May 2008Participant List  

Abstract
Food web theory was developed in large part on the pathway of primary production from plants to herbivores to predators even though most primary productivity is uneaten by herbivores and enters the food web as detritus. What happens to this dominant chunk of the world's productivity? Is the detrital food web a self-contained sink internally recycling energy and nutrients or a link that affects the population dynamics of classic herbivore webs? Do these dynamics differ with system productivity or among habitats, e.g., aquatic versus terrestrial? Whatever the case, we should understand much more about this fundamental component of communities. This working group will focus on the role of detritus in the dynamics and structure of communities; determine systematic differences in its production, quality, and use among habitats; and delineate a framework to integrate detrital and classic food webs.

TypeProducts of NCEAS Research
PublicationMcCann, Kevin S.; Koen-Alonso, Mariano ; Hastings, Alan ; Moore, John C.2005. Tribute. Edited by de Ruiter, Peter C.; Wolters, Volkmar; Moore, John C.Dynamic Food Webs: Multispecies Assemblages, Ecosystem Development and Environmental Change. Elsevier. Amsterdam. Pages 1-9.
PublicationMoore, John C.; Berlow, Eric ; Coleman, David C.; de Ruiter, Peter C.; Dong, Quan ; Hastings, Alan ; Johnson, Nancy C.; McCann, Kevin S.; Melville-Smith, Kimberly A.; Morin, Peter J.; Nadelhoffer, Knute ; Rosemond, Amy ; Post, David M.; Sabo, John ; Scow, Kate ; Vanni, Michael J.; Wall, Diana H.2004. Detritus, trophic dynamics and biodiversity. Ecology Letters. Vol: 7. Pages 584-600.
PublicationMoore, John C.; McCann, Kevin S.; Setala, Heikki ; de Ruiter, Peter C.2003. Top-down is bottom-up: Does predation in the rhizosphere regulate above ground dynamics?. Ecology. Vol: 84. Pages 846-857.
Publicationde Ruiter, Peter C.; Wolters, Volkmar ; Moore, John C.2005. Dynamic Food Webs: Multispecies Assemblages, Ecosystem Development and Environmental Change. Edited by de Ruiter, Peter; Wolters, Volkmar; Moore, John C.Elsevier. Amsterdam. Pages 590.