ABSTRACT
Ecosystem processes affect the transfer and cycling of energy and nutrients within a given ecosystem. A critical link in these processes is nutrient recycling via carrion decomposition. The spatial and temporal distribution of species, nutrients, and energy dene the mosaic structure of ecosystems; the extent and rate of cycling within dened geographic boundaries is an important aspect of landscape ecology (Urban et al. 1987; Forman 1995a,b) within which carrion metacommunity processes operate.
