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Free keywords:
adaptation; bioelement accumulation; calcium; decomposition; Diplopoda
Abstract:
The chemical composition of the cuticle of two closely related detritivorous polydesmid millipedes, inhabitants of contrasting forest habitats, was compared for their respective bioelement content (calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon). No differences were found for the absolute amount of bioelements, but the relative amount was higher in Pycnotropis tida (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Aphelidesmidae) from the inundation forest. P. sigma from the upland forest had a higher weight and higher fraction of organic compounds. That might be explained by a substitution of calcium with proteins. Both millipede species strongly accumulated calcium, so that differences in calcium contents of the different trophic levels were reduced within the food chain. The calcium ratio (calcium content in the cuticle to calcium content in wood) was about 50 in P. tida and 120 in P. sigma. Some adaptive and evolutionary consequences of the different life cycles in relation to the resource quality and species distribution are discussed.
