Stream macroinvertebrate community responses to an agricultural gradient alter consumer-driven nutrient dynamics

Although macroinvertebrate communities play a key role in the cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in streams, this process may be disrupted through decreased macroinvertebrate diversity or abundance from agricultural inputs of nutrients, sediments and pesticides. However, it is unclear how such community changes affect their biological storage of N and P. In 2010 and 2011, we collected water samples and macroinvertebrates from 14 streams …