Cotgreave et al. 1993 (Article) animals

The relationship between body size and population size in bromeliad tank faunas

Author(s):—P. Cotgreave, M.J. HILL & D.A.J. Middleton

Publication:—Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 49(4): 367-380. (1993) — DOI

Abstract:—Relationships between body size and abundance in collections of animals from the tanks of 73 bromeliads belonging to five species were analysed. Unlike data in previously published studies on this relationship, these collections of species are not taxonomically restricted and represent complete communities over the macroscopic range of organisms. There is no overall tendency for there to be a positive or negative relationship between population abundance and body size of morphospecies. We can find no evidence that body size-abundance patterns are triangular in complete communities. However, there is weak evidence that the relationship in the aquatic subsets of those communities may have some underlying triangularity, with medium-sized species having the largest populations.

Keywords:—Bromeliad, community structure, population abundance, body size, morphospecies