Leaf litter morphological traits, invertebrate body mass and phylogenetic affiliation explain the feeding and feces properties of saprophagous macroarthropods

Ganault, Pierre; Barantal, Sandra; Lambers, Hans; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Lucas, Shéhérazade; Decaëns, Thibaud; Nahmani, Johanne

doi:10.1016/j.ejsobi.2021.103383

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…These include higher nitrogen or phosphorus contents, lower contents of recalcitrant compounds such as lignin and secondary metabolites, higher contents of dissolved organic C and nitrogen, and higher surface area and water-holding capacity. Such features have often been reported for feces of millipedes [73][74][75][76][77][78][79] , woodlice 6,80,81 , snails 6,80 , and partly, mites 82 . In contrast, some studies on woodlice and fly larvae reported feces properties rather unfavorable for microbial proliferation, such as higher contents of lignin or lower contents of nitrogen as compared to non-ingested litter 81,[83][84][85][86][87][88] .…”

Section: Feces/castsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Conceptualizing soil fauna effects on labile and stabilized soil organic matter

Angst,

Potapov,

Joly

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

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Fauna is highly abundant and diverse in soils worldwide, but surprisingly little is known about how it affects soil organic matter stabilization. Here, we review how the ecological strategies of a multitude of soil faunal taxa can affect the formation and persistence of labile (particulate organic matter, POM) and stabilized soil organic matter (mineral-associated organic matter, MAOM). We propose three major mechanisms - transformation, translocation, and grazing on microorganisms - by which soil fauna alters factors deemed essential in the formation of POM and MAOM, including the quantity and decomposability of organic matter, soil mineralogy, and the abundance, location, and composition of the microbial community. Determining the relevance of these mechanisms to POM and MAOM formation in cross-disciplinary studies that cover individual taxa and more complex faunal communities, and employ physical fractionation, isotopic, and microbiological approaches is essential to advance concepts, models, and policies focused on soil organic matter and effectively manage soils as carbon sinks, nutrient stores, and providers of food.

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Section: Feces/castsmentioning

confidence: 85%

Conceptualizing soil fauna effects on labile and stabilized soil organic matter

Angst,

Potapov,

Joly

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

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“…However, macrodetritivore communities contain diverse groups of organisms (Potapov et al., 2022) that differ greatly across vegetation and land use types (Barros et al., 2002; Lavelle et al., 2022) and that respond very differently to the same climatic and anthropogenic stressors (Potapov et al., 2021). Individual laboratory studies using small numbers of isopod and millipede species have found no significant relationships (Catalán et al., 2008; Ganault et al., 2022), positive relationships (David et al., 2001; Mondet et al., 2023) and U‐shaped relationships (Abelho & Molles, 2009) between litter quality and macrodetritivore consumption rates. These varied responses reveal a gap in our knowledge of how the consumption, assimilation and growth rate responses of individual macrodetritivore groups (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of leaf litter traits on terrestrial isopod and millipede consumption, assimilation and growth

Lam,

Slade,

Wardle

2024

Functional Ecology

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Nutrient cycling through leaf litter consumption is an essential ecological function performed by macrodetritivorous invertebrates such as isopods and millipedes. Leaf litter consumption rates can vary greatly depending on the environment, consumer identity and litter traits, but generalizations about the effects of plant traits on macrodetritivore leaf litter consumption, assimilation and growth are not well established and are mostly indirectly inferred. We conducted a systematic search of the global literature and obtained 456 standardized measures from laboratory experiments of relative consumption (RCR), assimilation (RAR) and growth (RGR) rates of terrestrial isopods and millipedes, extracted from 56 different articles. We investigated if commonly measured leaf traits, plant functional groups, prior microbial conditioning of leaves and climatic conditions affected these rates. We obtained data on commonly measured leaf traits from the TRY global plant trait database, inferred plant functional groups from taxonomic groupings and obtained climatic data from information reported within articles. RCR, RAR and RGR varied greatly among macrodetritivore and plant species, but overall, there were no differences between isopods and millipedes. Microbial conditioning of litter greatly increased RCR. Plant functional group was an important predictor of RCR, with eudicot trees and forbs being consumed in greater quantities than magnoliid trees and grasses. Fresh leaf N:P ratio had a positive effect on RAR, and leaf N and C:N ratio had positive and negative effects on RGR, respectively, while climatic variables had weak effects on the three rates. Our work shows that plant traits (both those associated with plant functional groups and commonly measured leaf traits) exert strong effects on resource processing rates by terrestrial macrodetritivores. Further, prior microbial conditioning of leaf litter has a large and globally consistent positive effect on macrodetritivore litter consumption, suggesting that they may consume little, if any, freshly senesced leaf material when microbially conditioned litter is available. Our results suggest that, where extremes of temperature or precipitation do not occur, variables reflective of food quality (leaf traits and microbe conditioning) are more important drivers of macrodetritivore leaf litter consumption than are extrinsic climatic variables. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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“…But even at the local scale of a few meters, variable abiotic conditions, including microclimate and soil physico-chemical properties, along with stochastic processes, can lead to pronounced differences in soil communities (Ramirez et al 2014;O'Brien et al2016;Zinger et al 2019). The structure of the vegetation within an habitat or its taxonomy or functional composition can also affect the abundance and diversity of different soil taxa or trophic groups (Noguerales et al 2021;Calderón-Sanou et al 2022;Ganault et al 2022). Effectively disentangling the effects of spatial, environmental and biotic processes necessitates a sampling design that encompasses multiple spatial scales, ranging from the heterogeneity between habitats to small-scale soil variations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain soil food webs shaped by the interplay between habitat and pedoclimatic conditions

Calderón‐Sanou

Ohlmann

Münkemüller

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Our knowledge of the factors influencing the distribution of soil organisms is limited to specific taxonomic groups. Consequently, our understanding of the drivers shaping the entire soil food web is constrained. To address this gap, we conducted an extensive soil biodiversity monitoring program in the French Alps, using environmental DNA to obtain multi-taxon data from 418 soil samples. The spatial structure of resulting soil food webs varied significantly between and within habitats. From forests to grasslands, we observed a shift in the abundance of trophic groups from fungal to bacterial feeding channels, reflecting different ecosystem functioning. Furthermore, forest food webs were more strongly spatially structured which could only partly be explained by abiotic conditions. Grassland food webs were more strongly driven by plant community composition and soil characteristics. Our findings provide valuable insights into how climate and land use changes may differentially affect soil food webs in mountains.

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Leaf litter morphological traits, invertebrate body mass and phylogenetic affiliation explain the feeding and feces properties of saprophagous macroarthropods

Cited by 9 publications

References 72 publications

Conceptualizing soil fauna effects on labile and stabilized soil organic matter

Conceptualizing soil fauna effects on labile and stabilized soil organic matter

Effects of leaf litter traits on terrestrial isopod and millipede consumption, assimilation and growth

Mountain soil food webs shaped by the interplay between habitat and pedoclimatic conditions

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