Density—body size allometry does not exist in a chironomid community on Myriophyllum

SUMMARY. It has been proposed that population density is allometrically related to body size for a wide range of animal species. An interesting question is whether this applies to species within a specific community or trophic guild, thus constituting a ‘pattern’ of community structure. Density‐body size allometry can be translated into the relationship between population biomass (B) and population density (N). If the regression coefficient b in log B = a + b log N approximates 1, there is no allometric relation between density and body size. Data from an epiphytic chironomid community show b∼1, thus indicating that no density‐body size allometry exists in this community. Biomass is less equitably distributed than numbers among species in this and many other communities. There is some difficulty in extending the logic of the density‐body size allometry to many invertebrate communities, where body size is a strongly time‐dependent, variable trait.