Meeting Abstract

139.1  Monday, Jan. 7  Lust for Salt in the Western Amazon DUDLEY, R*; KASPARI, M; YANOVIAK, SP; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Univ. of Oklahoma; Univ. of Louisville wings@berkeley.edu

Although the use of mineral licks by diverse Amazonian birds and mammals is well known, the ultimate motivation for such behavior remains unclear. Because aerosol deposition of salts declines with distance from oceanic sources, lick visitation in the western Amazon can best be explained by demand for salt given the low concentration of this micronutrient in the plant tissues consumed by these taxa. Empirically, we have shown that sodium limitation influences ant foraging behavior, and impinges via effects on microbial and invertebrate decomposers on ecosystem rates of carbon cycling. The biogeographical context of sodium availability has been largely overlooked but has substantial pantropical implications for herbivore and decomposer performance in inland rainforests.