Monday, December 11, 2006 - 9:35 AM
0385

Role of community assembly and diversity as a driving mechanism for food web dynamics in a model ecosystem

Jennifer Yvonne Rosati, rosati1@uwindsor.ca and Sherah L. VanLaerhoven. University of Windsor, Department of Biology, Rm 119 Biology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave, Windsor, ON, Canada

Carrion represents an ephemeral resource on which a distinct arthropod community develops and, thus, can be used as a model system to understand interactions that govern food web dynamics, community assembly and patterns of succession. The guild of sarcosaprophagous arthropods composing the majority of the community associated with carrion during the early stages of decomposition is dominated by species of blow fly (Diptera: Calliphoridae). In Spring 2005, 2 freshly killed pigs (approximately 23kg) were placed in each habitat type in 6 test sites in Southwestern Ontario, Canada (n=12 pigs/season). This experiment was repeated for summer and fall seasons (2 habitats x 6 sites x 3 seasons=36 pigs total). Insects were sampled using a combination of pitfall and malaise traps as well as direct sampling. Effects of habitat and season varied with respect to the individual species considered. Variations in colonization events differed among seasons and between habitats. The potential for variability in the blow fly community between habitats and among seasons to alter food web dynamics and later successional patterns is discussed.