Arthropod Community Structure during the Early Stages of Leaf Litter Decomposition

Abstract

Arthropods constituting 51 families of 13 orders were collected from leaf litter during the early stages of decomposition. These groups were classified into their respective trophic categories based on mouthpart inference. These categories are as follows: chewing detritivores (15 families) > chewing predators (6 families) > chewing herbivores and sucking herbivores (5 families) > sucking predators (3 families) > chewing parasites and chewing omnivores (2 families). A simplified food web of the arthropods in leaf litter is also presented. Keywords - arthropod community, foodweb, leaf litter, trophic categories