Fig. 5. Net effect of litter conversion into faeces on decomposition.

Net differences in a C loss and b N loss (see Fig. 4) between faeces and the intact litter from which faeces are derived as a function of litter C and N loss, respectively, for all faeces types (mean ± SE; n = 5). Differences above the black dotted lines are significantly positive, and differences below the black dashed line are significantly negative. Numbers in brackets indicate the relative frequency of non-significant differences (=), positive differences (↑) and negative differences (↓). %SS (percentage of total sum of squares) and asterisks (ns: P > 0.05; ***P < 0.001) indicate the variance and P value associated with the effect of litter C or N loss, detritivore species and their interaction in a two-way ANCOVA. Thick black lines represent the regression lines for all treatments, with grey areas representing the 95% confidence intervals of regression lines. Grey lines represent the regression line for each detritivore species separately, each labelled with the first two letters of the detritivore genus name.