Animal‐mediated organic matter transformation: Aquatic insects as a source of microbially bioavailable organic nutrients and energy

Animal communities are essential drivers of energy and elemental flow in ecosystems. However, few studies have investigated the functional role of animals as sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the subsequent utilization of that DOM by the microbial community. In a small forested headwater stream, we tested the effects of taxonomy, feeding traits, and body size on the quality and quantity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved...