Construct · 1 fields · 2 citations

detritus: a standalone construct

One name. One construct. A landmark on the map.

● anchor · a standalone construct Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
detritus1 CONSTRUCTDetrital matterODUM · BROWN FOOD WEB

A single standalone construct; nearby constructs are located against it in the Collider. Tap a field for its definition, unit, and measures.

Ecology (ecosystem science)

Dead organic matter and the food web built on it

In ecology, detritus is non-living particulate organic matter (dead leaves, fecal material, carcasses, and their microbial decomposers) that forms the base of the detrital, or ‘brown’, food web, in contrast to the ‘green’ food web based on living plants. Eugene P. Odum and Armando de la Cruz argued for its central role in their 1963 paper Detritus as a Major Component of Ecosystems in the AIBS Bulletin, and John Moore and colleagues synthesized detritus-based trophic dynamics in Ecology Letters in 2004. The referent is dead biomass flowing through consumers and decomposers, measured as organic carbon or energy, distinct from the geologist's detritus, which is mineral debris.[1][2]

Unit
One mass of dead organic matter entering the food web
Recovery means
Collect litter, sediment organic matter, or fecal material and separate the non-living organic fraction
Measured by
Quantified as organic carbon, dry mass, or energy content of the non-living organic pool

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Nearby constructs

base3 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, three constructscomponent3 fields · 5 citationsjingle · one word, three constructscontrast4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructs

References

  1. Odum, E. P., & de la Cruz, A. A. (1963). Detritus as a major component of ecosystems. AIBS Bulletin, 13(3), 39–40. https://doi.org/10.2307/1293085
  2. Moore, J. C., Berlow, E. L., Coleman, D. C., de Ruiter, P. C., Dong, Q., Hastings, A., Johnson, N. C., McCann, K. S., Melville, K., Morin, P. J., Nadelhoffer, K., Rosemond, A. D., Post, D. M., Sabo, J. L., Scow, K. M., Vanni, M. J., & Wall, D. H. (2004). Detritus, trophic dynamics and biodiversity. Ecology Letters, 7(7), 584–600. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00606.x

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