Direct and indirect effects of amphidromous shrimps on nutrient mineralization in streams in Japan

Abstract

Animals affect element cycling in ecosystems by consumption and excretion. Amphidromous shrimps frequently dominate low-mid altitude streams, where downstream connectivity to oceans is sustained. Although shrimps’ direct influence on benthic communities has been studied, little is known about their influences on nutrient cycling. Here, we hypothesized that the dominance of shrimps alters nutrient mineralization by benthic macroinvertebrates in streams due to the difference in the quality and quantity of excretion between shrimps and aquatic insects. We tested this hypothesis through a field manipulative experiment, excretion measurements of animals, and field surveys. In the field manipulative experiment, the presence of shrimps slightly decreased the biomass of aquatic insects but tripled total benthic macroinvertebrate biomass directly through their own biomass. The mass-specific NH₄⁺ excretion rate by shrimps was similar to aquatic insects, and the areal NH₄⁺ excretion by benthic macroinvertebrates was increased by 2.5 times in the presence of shrimps. In contrast, shrimps excreted significantly less soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) than aquatic insects, and the presence of shrimps did not affect areal SRP excretion by benthic macroinvertebrates. The field survey showed a positive correlation of NO₃⁻ concentration with the shrimp density, inferring the excess NH₄⁺ was nitrified. Although the nutrient concentration of stream water is frequently attributed to watershed conditions, the results of this study indicate that downstream connectivity to oceans may also influence nutrient dynamics of the stream through the density of amphidromous shrimps.