Arthropod community structure during the early stages of leaf litter decomposition.

Date

4-2011

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Biology

Major Course

Major in Ecology Genetics

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Aimee Lynn A. Barrion-Dupo

Abstract

Arthropods play a significant role in the decomposition process of leaf litter in a tropical forest ecosystem. Their feeding activities facilitate nutrient cycling in the ecosystem. This study was done in a secondary forest of Mt. Makiling located at Permanent Field Laboratory Area 1, 160 masl. It was conducted to document the different feeding groups of arthropods present on the first 10 weeks that leaf litters from a secondary forest were on the forest floor. Arthropods collected were classified up to the family level and their colonization pattern was determined. A total of (1.6) kg of mixed fresh leaf litter was laid out on a four m2 plot in Mt. Makiling. Two (2) 100g samples were collected every other week for 10 weeks. Arthropods extracted from leaf litter samples were sorted and identified. A total of 1650 individuals were classified to belong to 13 orders, namely: Acarina, Araneida, Blattodea, Collembola, Dermaptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Isopoda, Lepidoptera, Psocoptera, Trichoptera and Diptera. The latter order was the most abundant. Litter arthropods were grouped into trophic categories and a food web was constructed to illustrate relationships between them. Influence of litter moisture content on the density of these arthropods was determined using Pearson correlation. Results showed no correlation between density per dry weight of arthropods and litter moisture content. Therefore, litter moisture content has no influence on the abundance of these leaf litter arthropods. This present study is a pioneering one in the country on the documentation of arthropods colonizing leaf litter in a tropical rainforest ecosystem.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

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