Interactions arising from effects on resource quality have not received as much attention as those interactions (for example, exploitative competition) resulting from effects on resource quantity. When two species use the same resource in different physical/chemical states, and the transformation of the resource between states is influenced by one of the species, this relationship is referred to as a "processing chain." The influence of one species in a processing chain may be commensal or amensal, depending on the relative rates of processing in its presence or absence. Processing chains are widespread in nature, especially among detritivores, yet they have garnered little attention. Such a system is the subject of this research: the detritivorous- insect larvae inhabiting pitchers of the purple pitcher plant (Sarrecenia purpurea), native to many bogs across eastern North America. Three species feed on captured prey items in different states of decomposition: a sarcophagid fly, a midge, and a mosquito. Patch-level consequences of processing chain interactions, the possible sensitivity of patch selection (oviposition) to these interactions, and the implications for coexistence and success of species at a supra-patch or regional scale (across pitchers within a bog) will be studied. Because processing chains are common in nature, results from this study in Newfoundland, Canada, will have pertinence for a wide array of other organisms.
