Rio Claro receives a substantial amount of leaf-input from surround trees, particularly in the dry season. Organic matter processing and the importance of these inputs are little study in tropical streams, especially in comparison with temperate systems, where we know that excluding this vital energy source dramatically changes in-stream communities, which can then affect terrestrial, riparian ecosystems. Given the great abundance of invertebrates, like shrimp, that are likely shredders and biofilm-grazing snails, it’s likely that tropical streams operate similar to temperate streams… Anyway, here’s some leaf packs.
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