Frost Paul C, Benstead Jonathan P, Cross Wyatt F, Hillebrand Helmut, Larson James H, Xenopoulos Marguerite A, Yoshida Takehito
Ecol Lett. 2006 Jul;9(7):774-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00919.x.
Inadequate supply of one or more mineral elements can slow the growth of animal consumers and alter their physiology, life history and behaviour. A key concept for understanding nutrient deficiency in animals is the threshold elemental ratio (TER), at which growth limitation switches from one element to another. We used a stoichiometric model that coupled animal bioenergetics and body elemental composition to estimate TER of carbon and phosphorus (TER(C:P)) for 41 aquatic consumer taxa. We found a wide range in TER(C:P) (77-3086, ratio by atoms), which was generated by interspecific differences in body C : P ratios and gross growth efficiencies of C. TER(C:P) also varied among aquatic invertebrates having different feeding strategies, such that detritivores had significantly higher threshold ratios than grazers and predators. The higher TER(C:P) in detritivores resulted not only from lower gross growth efficiencies of carbon but also reflected lower body P content in these consumers. Supporting previous stoichiometric theory, we found TER(C:P) to be negatively correlated with the maximum growth rate of invertebrate consumers. By coupling bioenergetics and stoichiometry, this analysis revealed strong linkages among the physiology, ecology and evolution of nutritional demands for animal growth.
一种或多种矿物质元素供应不足会减缓动物消费者的生长速度，并改变它们的生理、生活史和行为。理解动物营养缺乏的一个关键概念是阈值元素比（TER），在该比值下，生长限制会从一种元素转变为另一种元素。我们使用了一个将动物生物能量学和身体元素组成相结合的化学计量模型，来估计41种水生消费者类群的碳和磷的阈值元素比（TER(C:P)）。我们发现TER(C:P)的范围很广（原子比为77 - 3086），这是由身体C:P比和C的总生长效率的种间差异产生的。TER(C:P)在具有不同摄食策略的水生无脊椎动物中也有所不同，例如，碎屑食性动物的阈值比明显高于植食性动物和捕食性动物。碎屑食性动物较高的TER(C:P)不仅是由于碳的总生长效率较低，还反映了这些消费者体内较低的P含量。支持先前的化学计量理论，我们发现TER(C:P)与无脊椎动物消费者的最大生长速率呈负相关。通过将生物能量学和化学计量学相结合，该分析揭示了动物生长营养需求的生理学、生态学和进化之间的紧密联系。
