Data from: Tropical shift in decomposers’ relative contribution to leaf litter breakdown in two Guinean streams

The hypothesis that leaf litter breakdown in Guinean streams is governed by microorganisms was confirmed, supporting the reported latitudinal shift in decomposers’ contribution to this process. The large body size of dominant macroinvertebrate decomposers (shrimps) only partially compensated for their very low densities. In contrast with other tropical regions mostly dominated by insect larvae, the functional consequences of global warming on these stream ecosystems may be less severe due to the lower sensitivity of crustaceans to temperature increase.

本研究证实了几内亚溪流中落叶分解由微生物主导的假说，该结果佐证了已报道的分解者对该生态过程的贡献存在纬度梯度变化的现象。优势大型无脊椎动物（macroinvertebrate）分解者（虾类（shrimps））的较大个体体型，仅能部分弥补其极低的种群密度。与其他以昆虫幼虫为主导的热带区域不同，由于甲壳类动物（crustaceans）对温度升高的敏感性更低，全球变暖对这类溪流生态系统造成的功能效应或相对较轻。