Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures

Bokhorst, Stef; Ronfort, C.; Huiskes, A.H.L.; Convey, Peter; Aerts, Rien

doi:10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4

Cited by 42 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…3), indicating improved feeding conditions (cf. Hodkinson and Wookey 1999;Bokhorst et al 2007b). In spite of differences in physicochemical soil parameters and vegetation structure being reported between the ornithogenic tundra developing close to planktivorous and piscivorous seabird colonies (Stempniewicz et al 2006), we found similar abundance and species composition of springtail communities in the sampling plots influenced by the two representatives of these colony types examined in this study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

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Influence of allochtonous nutrients delivered by colonial seabirds on soil collembolan communities on Spitsbergen

et al. 2012

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Despite a widespread recognition of the role of seabird colonies in the fertilization of nutrient-poor polar terrestrial ecosystems, qualitative and quantitative data documenting any consequential influence on soil invertebrate communities are still lacking. Therefore, we studied community structure and abundance of springtails (Collembola) in ornithogenic tundra near two large seabird colonies in Hornsund, south-west Spitsbergen. We found considerably (5-209) higher densities and biomass of Collembola in the vicinities of both colonies (the effect extending up to ca. 50 m from the colony edge) than in comparable control areas of tundra not influenced by allochtonous nutrient input. The most common springtails observed in the seabird-influenced areas were Folsomia quadrioculata, Hypogastrura viatica and Megaphorura arctica. The latter species appeared the most resistant to ornithogenic nutrient input and was found commonly closest to the bird colonies. Collembolan abundance decreased with increasing distance from the seabird colonies. However, relationships between collembolan density and specific physicochemical soil parameters and vegetation characteristics were weak. The most important factors were the cover of the nitrophilous green alga Prasiola crispa, total plant biomass and soil solution conductivity, all of which were correlated with distance from the colony and estimated amount by guano deposition. Community composition and abundance of springtails showed no evidence of being influenced of seabird diet, with no differences apparent between communities found in ornithogenic tundra developing in the vicinity of planktivorous and piscivorous seabird colonies. The study provides confirmation of the influence of marine nutrient input by seabirds on soil microfaunal communities.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Cragg and Bardgett 2001;Hodkinson et al 2002;Hopkin 2002;Bokhorst et al 2007b). Invertebrates perform and regulate mineralization of fresh organic residues, mostly acting in their physical breakdown or as grazers of the microflora, whereas microorganisms are responsible for the chemical degradation of complex molecules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of allochtonous nutrients delivered by colonial seabirds on soil collembolan communities on Spitsbergen

et al. 2012

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“…This would to some extent be in contradiction to our results, where springtails and oribatid mites obviously did not depend on adjacent vascular plants. One possible explanation for the persistence of springtails in bare-soil habitats is their euryoecious feeding behavior, consuming unicellular algae, fungal mycelium, and lichens as well as plant litter and living plants (Bokhorst et al 2007;Hodkinson et al 1996; Minor al. 2016).…”

Section: Microarthropodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Side by side? Vascular plant, invertebrate, and microorganism distribution patterns along an alpine to nival elevation gradient

Winkler

Illmer

Querner

et al. 2018

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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High mountain areas above the alpine zone are, despite the low-temperature conditions, inhabited by evolutionary and functionally differing organism groups. We compared the abundance and species richness of vascular plants, oribatid mites, springtails, spiders, and beetles, as well as bacterial and methanogenic archaeal prokaryotes (only abundance), at 100 m vertical intervals from 2,700-3,400 m in the Central Alps. We hypothesized that the less mobile microarthropods and microorganisms are more determined by and respond in similar ways to soil properties as do vascular plants. In contrast, we expected the more mobile surface-dwelling groups to forage also in places devoid of vegetation and thus to show patterns that deviate from that of vascular plants.Surprisingly, the observed patterns were diametrically opposed to our expectations: soil-living oribatid mites and springtails showed high individual numbers at high elevations, even where vascular plants barely occurred. Springtails also showed a rather constant species richness throughout the entire gradient. In contrast, patterns of surface-dwelling organisms and of archaeal prokaryotes did not differ significantly from vascular plants, because of either comparable climate sensitivity or their dependency on vegetated habitats.This study may serve as a baseline to estimate the risks of biodiversity losses in response to climate change across different biotic ecosystem components and to explore the potential and limitations of vascular plants as proxy for other organism groups that are far more challenging to monitor. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…A functional relationship between lichen biomass and the diversity of food sources for different animals was pointed out by several authors (Bokhorst et al 2007;Llano 2012;Liu et al 2013;Norris et al 2011). Common intracellular products occurring in lichens include amino acids and proteins, polysaccharides and polyols, carotenoids and vitamins (Elix 1996).…”

Section: Food Provisionmentioning

confidence: 93%