Amino acid isotopes in functional assemblages of Collembola reveal the influence of vertical resource heterogeneity and root energy supply on trophic interactions in soil food webs

Li, Zhipeng; Bluhm, Sarah L.; Scheu, Stefan; Pollierer, Melanie M.

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108815

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Bayesian mixing models as well as LDA bootstrapping identified fungi as the main source of eAAs for both Collembola and Oribatida across all elevations, while plants and bacteria were of low importance. Generally, our results are in line with earlier studies that identified fungi, mainly saprotrophic fungi, as major basal resources of both Collembola and Oribatida, especially in forest ecosystems (Li et al, 2022; Pollierer & Scheu, 2021). High amounts of oleic (18:1ω9) as well as linoleic acid (18:2ω6,9) in both taxa also point to fungi as the major basal resource.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…However, microbial stress, which likely compromises the production of microbial defensive compounds, may counteract the effects of low litter quality on microarthropod nutrition at higher elevations (Lux et al, 2022a). Since fungi form the major food resource for both Collembola and Oribatida (Li et al, 2022; Pollierer & Scheu, 2021), and fungi are the main decomposer microorganisms of low‐quality litter, the diet of microarthropods at higher elevations may shift toward more microbial food; however, shifts in trophic niches of microarthropods with elevation are little studied (Fischer et al, 2014; Maraun et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Trophic positions of soil microarthropods in forests increase with elevation, but energy channels remain unchanged

Lux,

Xie,

Sun

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mountain forests are at risk as the consequences of climate change will likely lead to altered tree species boundaries. Characterizing food webs along elevation gradients in primary forests may help to predict the potential consequences of such changes, for example with regard to the decomposition of dead organic matter. Here, for the first time, we studied trophic variations in two species‐rich microarthropod taxa, Collembola and Oribatida, along an elevation gradient of primary forest at Changbai Mountain, China. Samples were taken at seven elevations of 150‐m elevational difference between 800 and 1700 m. At each elevation, Collembola and Oribatida were extracted from litter samples of eight subplots. We applied three state‐of‐the‐art methods to elucidate trophic positions and basal resource use at community level: Bulk stable isotope analysis of nitrogen (Δ15Nbulk) and carbon (Δ13Cbulk), compound‐specific stable isotope analysis of amino acids (CSIA‐AA), and dietary routing of neutral lipid fatty acids (NLFAs). Trophic positions calculated using Δ15Nbulk and CSIA‐AA (TPCSIA) in both taxa increased similarly with elevation by about half and one third of a trophic position, respectively. Stable isotope mixing models and linear discriminant analysis bootstrapping using δ13C of essential amino acids indicated fungi as the most important resource at all elevations for both taxa. Also, proportions of marker NLFAs changed little across elevations in both taxa; overall high proportions of linoleic acid indicated high fungal contributions, but in Collembola the contribution of bacterial markers was generally higher than in Oribatida. Δ13Cbulk did not respond linearly to the elevation gradient; however, changes in elevation differed between Collembola and Oribatida. A strong linear relationship between δ15N of phenylalanine and δ15N of litter indicated litter as the basis of energy channels in both taxa. Overall, food web functioning likely changes with changing forest types along elevation gradients, with microarthropods switching from feeding closer to the base of the food web at lower elevations to feeding at higher trophic levels at higher elevations, potentially compromising their role in litter decomposition and nutrient cycling.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic positions of soil microarthropods in forests increase with elevation, but energy channels remain unchanged

Lux,

Xie,

Sun

et al. 2024

Ecosphere

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Generally, Collembola have been shown to preferentially feed on fungi (Pollierer and Scheu 2021 ; Li et al 2022 ; Lux et al 2024 ). However, as indicated by results of our study, a large fraction of the (functional) Collembola community may also predominantly feed on litter and only switch to feeding on resources of higher trophic level if nutrient limitation increases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, direct contributions of the Collembola community to decomposition of litter might be higher at lower elevations, while Collembola may feed more intensively on the more abundant microbial resources at higher elevations. Collembola in forest ecosystems have been found to predominantly rely on saprotrophic fungi (Pollierer and Scheu 2021 ; Li et al 2022 ); consequently, the trophic positions of Collembola communities may increase with elevation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trophic niches of Collembola communities change with elevation, but also with body size and life form

Lux,

Xie,

Sun

et al. 2024

Oecologia

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change will likely increase habitat loss of endemic tree species and drives forest conversion in mountainous forests. Elevation gradients provide the opportunity to predict possible consequences of such changes. While species compositions of various taxa have been investigated along elevation gradients, data on trophic changes in soil-dwelling organisms are scarce. Here, we investigated trophic changes of the Collembola communities along the northern slope of Changbai Mountain, China. We sampled Collembola in primary forests at seven elevations (800–1700 m asl). We measured individual body lengths and bulk stable isotopes on species level. We further categorized Collembola species into life forms. The community-weighted means of Δ15N and Δ13C values as well as minimum Δ15N values and isotopic uniqueness of Collembola communities increased with increasing elevation, while the range of Δ15N values decreased. Maximum and minimum of Δ13C values differed between elevations but showed no linear trend. Further, Δ15N values of Collembola species occurring across all elevations increased with elevation. Changes in Δ15N values with elevation were most pronounced in hemiedaphic species, while Δ13C values increased strongest with elevation in euedaphic species. Δ15N values increased with decreasing body size in hemiedaphic and euedaphic species. Overall, the results suggest that Collembola species functioning as primary decomposers at lower elevations shift towards functioning as secondary decomposers or even predators or scavengers at higher elevation forests. The results further indicate that access to alternative food resources depends on Collembola life form as well as body size and varies between ecosystems.

show abstract

“…Indeed, it has been shown that microarthropods are more sensitive to root trenching than macroarthropods in temperate forests (Bluhm et al, 2021). Differences in the vertical distribution of soil fauna may be another factor determining the use of litter vs. root resources (Li et al, 2022;Potapov, 2022). In fact, root-derived resources have been found to be more important for soilthan for litter-dwelling springtails in coniferous forests (Potapov, Semenina, et al, 2016); however, this pattern may not uniformly apply and has not been investigated in tropical ecosystems (Fujii et al, 2016;Li et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant roots fuel tropical soil animal communities

Zhou

Preiser

et al. 2023

Ecology Letters

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Belowground life relies on plant litter, while its linkage to living roots had long been understudied, and remains unknown in the tropics. Here, we analysed the response of 30 soil animal groups to root trenching and litter removal in rainforest and plantations in Sumatra, and found that roots are similarly important to soil fauna as litter. Trenching effects were stronger in soil than in litter, with an overall decrease in animal abundance in rainforest by 42% and in plantations by 30%. Litter removal little affected animals in soil, but decreased the total abundance by 60% in rainforest and rubber plantations but not in oil palm plantations. Litter and root effects on animal group abundances were explained by body size or vertical distribution. Our study quantifies principle carbon pathways in soil food webs under tropical land use, providing the basis for mechanistic modelling and ecosystem‐friendly management of tropical soils.

show abstract

Amino acid isotopes in functional assemblages of Collembola reveal the influence of vertical resource heterogeneity and root energy supply on trophic interactions in soil food webs

Cited by 7 publications

References 79 publications

Trophic positions of soil microarthropods in forests increase with elevation, but energy channels remain unchanged

Trophic positions of soil microarthropods in forests increase with elevation, but energy channels remain unchanged

Trophic niches of Collembola communities change with elevation, but also with body size and life form

Plant roots fuel tropical soil animal communities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About