Does size matter? the importance of leaf litter patch size on decomposition and invertebrate communities

This research studies the effect of scale (leaf pack size and mass) and plant genes on decomposition and invertebrate communities.  We incubated small (4 gram) and large (150 gram) leaf packs containing two distinct cross types (Narrowleaf and Fremont) of hybridizing cottonwood leaf litter. Packs were incubated and harvested at days 14, 35 and 70 at Beaver Creek, Arizona.  In both small and large leaf packs, narrow leaf leaves decomposed more slowly than Fremont leaves.  In large packs however invertebrates discriminated more strongly between the two leaf types.  Invertebrate densities were higher in Fremont packs than narrow leaf in the large packs but were similar in the small packs.  These results suggest that patch size is an important determinate of invertebrate distribution patterns across resources varying in food quality.