Effects of the caddisfly gut microbiome on riparian leaf litter consumption
Our main objective is to characterize the caddisfly gut microbiome and determine the extent to which it contributes to this macroinvertebrate's ability to decompose riparian leaf litter. We first performed an in-situ diet-assay experiment to determine if secondary metabolites extracted from red alder leaves influence feeding preference. We also compared the taxonomic and functional properties of gut microbiomes derived from caddisflies dosed with an antibiotic cocktail relative to an untreated control. Together, our antibiotic and diet-preference experiment provide insight regarding the significance of the caddisfly gut microbiome for ecological function.