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Science 10 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5801, p. 963
DOI: 10.1126/science.1132598
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Brevia

Predators Accelerate Nutrient Cycling in a Bromeliad Ecosystem

Jacqueline T. Ngai* and Diane S. Srivastava

Conventional ecological theory predicts that predators affect nutrient cycling by decreasing the abundance or activity of prey. By using a predator-detritivore-detritus food chain in bromeliads, we show that predators can increase nutrient cycling by a previously undescribed, but broadly applicable, mechanism: reducing nutrient export by prey emigration. Contrary to expectations, predation on detritivores increases detrital nitrogen uptake by bromeliads. Predation reduces detritivore emergence and hence export of nitrogen from the system. Detritivores therefore benefit their host plant, but only when predators are present. More generally, our results show that predator loss or extinction can dramatically and unexpectedly affect ecosystem functioning.

Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ngai{at}zoology.ubc.ca

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
From the Cover: Size, foraging, and food web structure.
O. L. Petchey, A. P. Beckerman, J. O. Riede, and P. H. Warren (2008)
PNAS 105, 4191-4196
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