Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions

Soil processes such as decomposition are mainly performed by soil biota. Although soils worldwide are extremely biodiverse, the relationship between decomposers (fauna and microorganisms), and ecosystem function is poorly understood. Collembola are abundant and ubiquitous microarthropods that are fo...

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Main Authors: Sékou F. M. Coulibaly, Bruna R. Winck, Marthe Akpa-Vinceslas, Laurent Mignot, Marc Legras, Estelle Forey, Matthieu Chauvat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00052/full
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author Sékou F. M. Coulibaly
Bruna R. Winck
Marthe Akpa-Vinceslas
Laurent Mignot
Marc Legras
Estelle Forey
Matthieu Chauvat
author_facet Sékou F. M. Coulibaly
Bruna R. Winck
Marthe Akpa-Vinceslas
Laurent Mignot
Marc Legras
Estelle Forey
Matthieu Chauvat
author_sort Sékou F. M. Coulibaly
collection DOAJ
description Soil processes such as decomposition are mainly performed by soil biota. Although soils worldwide are extremely biodiverse, the relationship between decomposers (fauna and microorganisms), and ecosystem function is poorly understood. Collembola are abundant and ubiquitous microarthropods that are found in terrestrial ecosystems. They can affect the amount of biomass and the activity of microbial communities, either directly through selectively feeding on fungi and bacteria, or indirectly by dissemination of microbial propagules, and the alteration of nutrient availability. However, despite the functional role they play in belowground food webs, the interactions between natural assemblages of soil microbes and Collembola receive little attention. This study, conducted in microcosm conditions, examines the effects of two distinct natural assemblages of functional groups of Collembola (ep- and euedaphic) upon microbial communities using PLFA markers and their associated soil functions (e.g., enzymatic activities and C mineralization rate) over a 2-month period. Our principal objective was to determine whether different functional groups of Collembola had varying effects on microbial soil community abundance, structure and activity, resulting in potentially important effects on ecosystem processes. Our findings show that the interactions of the functional groups of Collembola with microbial communities vary significantly whether they are alone or combined. A distinct response in the composition of the microbial communities was found at the end of the 2-month period. The communities were significantly different from each other in terms of PLFA marker composition. We found that the epedaphic species were related to and promoted Gram+ bacteria whereas euedaphic species were related to Gram- bacterial markers. This had further repercussions on soil function, such as nutrient recycling. Combining both functional groups did not lead to a complementary effect on soil microbial properties, with a drastically different outcome between the first and the second month of the experiment. Additional research dealing with the interactions between decomposers using natural assemblages will help to predict the functional outcomes of soil biota structure and composition.
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spelling doaj.art-21dc4944ed994436999a29032bba97b72022-12-22T01:33:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2019-05-01710.3389/fenvs.2019.00052452313Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated FunctionsSékou F. M. Coulibaly0Bruna R. Winck1Marthe Akpa-Vinceslas2Laurent Mignot3Marc Legras4Estelle Forey5Matthieu Chauvat6Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, IRSTEA, ECODIV, FR SCALE CNRS 3730, Rouen, FranceDepartamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, BrazilNormandie Univ, UNIROUEN, IRSTEA, ECODIV, FR SCALE CNRS 3730, Rouen, FranceNormandie Univ, UNIROUEN, IRSTEA, ECODIV, FR SCALE CNRS 3730, Rouen, FranceUniLaSalle, Aghyle Unit, FED NORVEGE 4277, Mont-Saint-Aignan, FranceNormandie Univ, UNIROUEN, IRSTEA, ECODIV, FR SCALE CNRS 3730, Rouen, FranceNormandie Univ, UNIROUEN, IRSTEA, ECODIV, FR SCALE CNRS 3730, Rouen, FranceSoil processes such as decomposition are mainly performed by soil biota. Although soils worldwide are extremely biodiverse, the relationship between decomposers (fauna and microorganisms), and ecosystem function is poorly understood. Collembola are abundant and ubiquitous microarthropods that are found in terrestrial ecosystems. They can affect the amount of biomass and the activity of microbial communities, either directly through selectively feeding on fungi and bacteria, or indirectly by dissemination of microbial propagules, and the alteration of nutrient availability. However, despite the functional role they play in belowground food webs, the interactions between natural assemblages of soil microbes and Collembola receive little attention. This study, conducted in microcosm conditions, examines the effects of two distinct natural assemblages of functional groups of Collembola (ep- and euedaphic) upon microbial communities using PLFA markers and their associated soil functions (e.g., enzymatic activities and C mineralization rate) over a 2-month period. Our principal objective was to determine whether different functional groups of Collembola had varying effects on microbial soil community abundance, structure and activity, resulting in potentially important effects on ecosystem processes. Our findings show that the interactions of the functional groups of Collembola with microbial communities vary significantly whether they are alone or combined. A distinct response in the composition of the microbial communities was found at the end of the 2-month period. The communities were significantly different from each other in terms of PLFA marker composition. We found that the epedaphic species were related to and promoted Gram+ bacteria whereas euedaphic species were related to Gram- bacterial markers. This had further repercussions on soil function, such as nutrient recycling. Combining both functional groups did not lead to a complementary effect on soil microbial properties, with a drastically different outcome between the first and the second month of the experiment. Additional research dealing with the interactions between decomposers using natural assemblages will help to predict the functional outcomes of soil biota structure and composition.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00052/fullPLFAsenzymatic activitiesspringtailslife-formsbelowground interactions
spellingShingle Sékou F. M. Coulibaly
Bruna R. Winck
Marthe Akpa-Vinceslas
Laurent Mignot
Marc Legras
Estelle Forey
Matthieu Chauvat
Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions
Frontiers in Environmental Science
PLFAs
enzymatic activities
springtails
life-forms
belowground interactions
title Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions
title_full Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions
title_fullStr Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions
title_full_unstemmed Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions
title_short Functional Assemblages of Collembola Determine Soil Microbial Communities and Associated Functions
title_sort functional assemblages of collembola determine soil microbial communities and associated functions
topic PLFAs
enzymatic activities
springtails
life-forms
belowground interactions
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00052/full
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