New perspectives on soil animal trophic ecology through the lens of C and N stable isotope ratios of oribatid mites

Maraun, Mark; Thomas, Tanja; Fast, Elisabeth; Treibert, Nico; Caruso, Tancredi; Schaefer, Ina; Lu, Jing‐Zhong; Scheu, Stefan

doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108890

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…We selected species that occurred both in litter and soil from the same soil core, as our primary focus was to understand the variation in isotope values of species with soil depth. According to published data and expert evaluation, species were ascribed a priori to four feeding guilds including primary decomposers, secondary decomposers, endophagous species (incorporating CaCO 3 into their cuticle), and predators/scavengers (Maraun et al, 2011 ; Maraun et al, 2022 ; Schneider et al, 2004 ). From each soil core, the same species were selected from each litter and soil, and two to three Oribatida species (adults) of different feeding guilds were selected for stable isotope analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High consistency of trophic niches in generalist arthropod species (Oribatida, Acari) across soil depth and forest type

Cordes

Maraun

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Many traits including trophic niche parameters are attributed to species. However, generalist species may vary in trophic niches with environments, making species‐based knowledge hard to extrapolate beyond local food webs. Here we tested trophic consistency in oribatid mite species (Acari), one of the most abundant arthropods that occupy all trophic levels in soil food webs. We used stable isotope analysis to compare trophic niches of 40 Oribatida species that co‐occur in litter (O L ) and soil (0–5 cm, mainly O F/H , A H ) of five forest types (native European beech, non‐native Douglas fir, range‐expanding Norway spruce, two beech–conifer mixed forests). Although stable isotope signatures of bulk material differed between litter and soil, 13 C and 15 N values of Oribatida species were remarkably stable irrespective of soil depth. Furthermore, Oribatida were more enriched in 13 C in European beech than in coniferous forests, but forest type little affected 15 N values of Oribatida across a range of site conditions. We conclude that Oribatida species occupy virtually identical trophic niches (δ 13 C and δ 15 N values) irrespective of the soil depth they colonize and that forest management including non‐native tree species little affects trophic position (δ 15 N values) of oribatid mites. Our findings suggest that the trophic position can be used as a trait in community analysis of Oribatida across forest ecosystems. Our results further indicate that trophic niches of generalist species can be highly consistent irrespective of environment.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High consistency of trophic niches in generalist arthropod species (Oribatida, Acari) across soil depth and forest type

Cordes

Maraun

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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“…Most studies use leaf litter to normalize δ 15 N bulk values of consumers (Klarner et al, 2014; Maraun et al, 2023; Potapov, Tiunov, & Scheu, 2019). Our study, however, demonstrates that δ 15 N values of litter may vary considerably even between neighboring forests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bulk stable isotope analysis of nitrogen and carbon allows to investigate shifts in trophic niches of soil invertebrates along environmental gradients (Maraun et al, 2023; Potapov, Tiunov, & Scheu, 2019). However, delineating trophic positions and food resources of soil invertebrates using stable isotope analysis of bulk animal tissue has limitations, especially when including primary and secondary decomposers, as bulk stable isotopes reflect both trophic positions as well as isotopic enrichment in dead organic matter itself (Potapov, Tiunov, Scheu, Larsen, & Pollierer, 2019).…”

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

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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.

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“…These taxa have been reported from resource-limited and stressful systems, such as arid and semi-arid areas (Neher et al 2009 ; Krantz and Walter 2009 ) feeding potentially on litter (Hubert et al 2000 ; Wickings and Grandy 2011 ; Gergócs and Hufnagel 2016 ), lichen, algae (Erdmann et al 2007 ), and nematodes (Rockett and Woodring 1966 ; Muraoka and Ishibashi 1976 ; Rockett 1980 ; Ramakrishnan and Neravathu 2019 ). However, several reports suggest they prefer fungal hyphae and spores over the rest of potential items (Behan-Pelletier and Hill 1978 ; Siepel and de Ruiter-Dijkman 1993 ; Hubert et al 2001 , 2004 ; Maraun et al 2023 ), placing them on the fungal-based food web. As fungal consumers, these oribatid mite species might compete for similar resources, posing the possibility of resource partitioning through selective feeding to avoid strong competition (Schneider and Maraun 2005 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal feeding preferences and molecular gut content analysis of two abundant oribatid mite species (Acari: Oribatida) under the canopy of Prosopis laevigata (Fabaceae) in a semi-arid land

Sánchez-Chávez¹,

Rodrı́guez-Zaragoza²,

Vélez

et al. 2023

Exp Appl Acarol

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Prosopis laevigata (mesquite; Fabaceae) forms fertility islands in soils of semi-arid lands where microbial diversity concentrates in response to the accumulation of resources in the soil beneath individual plants, promoting organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling. This phenomenon provides suitable conditions for the proliferation of key edaphic elements such as fungi and mites. Mite-fungal interactions are central for our understanding of nutrient cycling processes in resource-limited arid food webs; yet, no information is available about fertility islands in semi-arid lands. Thus, we aimed to determine in vitro fungal-based feeding preferences and molecular gut content of the oribatid mite species Zygoribatula cf. floridana and Scheloribates cf. laevigatus, which are abundant under the canopy of P. laevigata in an intertropical semi-arid zone in Central Mexico. Our results on the gut content analysis of these oribatid species resulted in the ITS-based identification of the following fungi: Aspergillus homomorphus, Beauveria bassiana, Filobasidium sp., Mortierella sp., Roussoella sp., Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sclerotiniaceae sp. and Triparticalcar sp. Furthermore, under laboratory conditions both oribatid mite species exhibited feeding preferences on melanized fungi, such as Cladosporium spp., whereas A. homomorphus and Fusarium penzigi were avoided. Our findings indicated that the analyzed oribatid mite species have similar feeding preferences for melanized fungi, which might suggest resource partitioning and a degree of preference, explaining the coexistence of both oribatid species.

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New perspectives on soil animal trophic ecology through the lens of C and N stable isotope ratios of oribatid mites

Cited by 26 publications

References 98 publications

High consistency of trophic niches in generalist arthropod species (Oribatida, Acari) across soil depth and forest type

High consistency of trophic niches in generalist arthropod species (Oribatida, Acari) across soil depth and forest type

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

Fungal feeding preferences and molecular gut content analysis of two abundant oribatid mite species (Acari: Oribatida) under the canopy of Prosopis laevigata (Fabaceae) in a semi-arid land

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