Succession, Diversity and Trophic Relationships of Some Soil Animals in Decomposing Leaf Litter

10.2307/3607 ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 475 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Soil Animals

scholarly journals Beech cupules as keystone structures for soil fauna

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nereida Melguizo-Ruiz ◽  
Gerardo Jiménez-Navarro ◽  
Jordi Moya-Laraño
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Habitat Modification ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Soil Community ◽  
Body Sizes ◽  
Facilitative Interactions

Facilitative or positive interactions are ubiquitous in nature and play a fundamental role in the configuration of ecological communities. In particular, habitat modification and niche construction, in which one organism locally modifies abiotic conditions and favours other organisms by buffering the effects of adverse environmental factors, are among the most relevant facilitative interactions. In line with this, ‘keystone structures’, which provide resources, refuge, or advantageous services decisive for other species, may allow the coexistence of various species and thus considerably contribute to diversity maintenance. Beech cupules are woody husks harbouring beech fruits that remain in the forest soil for relatively long periods of time. In this study, we explored the potential role of these cupules in the distribution and maintenance of the soil fauna inhabiting the leaf litter layer. We experimentally manipulated cupule availability and soil moisture in the field to determine if such structures are limiting and can provide moist shelter to soil animals during drought periods, contributing to minimize desiccation risks. We measured invertebrate abundances inside relative to outside the cupules, total abundances in the leaf litter and animal body sizes, in both dry and wet experimental plots. We found that these structures are preferentially used by the most abundant groups of smaller soil animals—springtails, mites and enchytraeids—during droughts. Moreover, beech cupules can be limiting, as an increase in use was found with higher cupule densities, and are important resources for many small soil invertebrates, driving the spatial structure of the soil community and promoting higher densities in the leaf litter, probably through an increase in habitat heterogeneity. We propose that fruit woody structures should be considered ‘keystone structures’ that contribute to soil community maintenance. Therefore, beech trees may indirectly facilitate soil fauna activities through their decaying fruit husks, hence acting as ecosystem engineers.

scholarly journals Studying the Activity of Leaf-Litter Fauna: A Small World to Discover

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dolores Ruiz-Lupión ◽  
María Pilar Gavín-Centol ◽  
Jordi Moya-Laraño
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Small World ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Soil Animals ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Animal Activity ◽  
The World ◽  
New Type ◽  
Dead Bodies

Hundreds of thousands of little creatures live in soils. Some eat live plants, live animals, or both. Others, called decomposers, consume dead plants, and the waste of other living beings (their feces and their dead bodies), and transform them into food for plants. The health of soils depends largely on the presence of decomposers, and thus it is necessary to study how these creatures may be affected by climate change. To this end, we built a new type of traps to catch live soil animals, which we called cul-de-sac and basket traps. Here, we show how these traps are better for studying animal activity (how much they move in the soil) compared to the most used devices to date, pitfall traps. Comparatively, our traps capture more active animals and prevent predators from killing prey inside, which will improve the accuracy of future studies all over the world.

Trophic relationships among terrestrial molluscs in a Hawaiian rain forest: analysis of carbon and nitrogen isotopes

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wallace M. Meyer ◽  
Norine W. Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Competitive Exclusion ◽  
Soil Fauna ◽  
Nitrogen Isotopes ◽  
Niche Overlap ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Dietary Specialization ◽  
Carbon And Nitrogen ◽  
Large Numbers

Soil and adjacent leaf-litter environments support a diverse decomposer fauna. This has led to what is known as ‘the enigma of the soil fauna’, or the question of how it is possible for such large numbers of species to coexist without obvious biotic mechanisms, such as competitive exclusion, limiting coexistence (Anderson 1975). Dietary specialization or effective partitioning of food resources could be a mechanism to avoid niche overlap among sympatric soil/litter species (Chahartaghi et al. 2005, Jennings & Barkham 1975). However, unravelling the complexities of trophic relationships can be difficult, especially in soil/leaf-litter habitats where both consumers and prey are small, diverse and often unidentifiable (Scheu & Falca 2000). As such, the trophic relationships among species in these habitats typically remain unresolved.

EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON THE PROPERTIES OF PINE AND MAPLE LEAF LITTER ASH. A LABORATORY STUDY

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 2107-2116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Tamkeviciute ◽  
Jolita Dudaite ◽  
Edita Baltrenaite ◽  
Xavier Ubeda
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Laboratory Study ◽  
Effects Of Temperature

A new species of the subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) (Acari: Oribatida: Scheloribatidae) from Panama

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-283
Author(s):  
S.G. Ermilov
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Oribatid Mite ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
Large Body Size ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

The oribatid mite subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) Grandjean, 1958, is recorded from the Neotropical region for the first time. A new species of this subgenus is described from the leaf litter collected in Cayo Agua Island, Panama. Scheloribates (Topobates) panamaensis sp. nov. differs from its related species by the very large body size and presence of a strong ventrodistal process on the leg femora II–IV.

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