摘要：Submersed aquatic plants with a high surface to biomass ratio generally support increased macroinvertebrate colonization because there is more surface area to colonize. Many aquatic plants also contain defensive compounds (phenolics, alkaloids, etc.) that deter herbivory by macroinvertebrates. Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is an invasive aquatic plant species that has both structurally complex architectures and high concentrations of defensive chemicals. We examined the communities of macroinvertebrates on five species of aquatic plants in Sandy Lake, Pennsylvania, and found that there was no significant difference in macroinvertebrate density, biomass, or species richness between M. spicatum and the other macrophytes. M spicatum contained significantly higher concentrations of defensive compounds, but these were not correlated with any measure of macroinvertebrate community composition.
