Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure
This study aimed to investigate how great cormorants and grey herons affect the density and trophic diversity of soil nematodes under breeding colonies located in Stawy Raszyńskie Nature Reserve (central Poland). Soil samples from the colonies were compared to control samples from adjacent areas una...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Polish Academy of Sciences
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Water and Land Development |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.pan.pl/Content/128411/PDF/2023-03-JWLD-10.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797659276714442752 |
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| author | Dawid Kozacki Krassimira Ilieva-Makulec Marek Hryniewicz Grzegorz Makulec |
| author_facet | Dawid Kozacki Krassimira Ilieva-Makulec Marek Hryniewicz Grzegorz Makulec |
| author_sort | Dawid Kozacki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study aimed to investigate how great cormorants and grey herons affect the density and trophic diversity of soil nematodes under breeding colonies located in Stawy Raszyńskie Nature Reserve (central Poland). Soil samples from the colonies were compared to control samples from adjacent areas unaffected by birds. Samples were taken at each site (two colonies and two relevant control sites) to a depth of 20 cm, and the soil cores were split into topsoil (0–10 cm) and subsoil (10–20 cm). A modified Baermann method was used to extract nematodes from the soil. The soil under nests supported more abundant nematode communities, but with a lower trophic diversity compared to the control sites. The cormorants had a greater impact on nematodes than the herons. We found that the external nitrogen input, the higher organic matter content and abundance of ammonifying bacteria, as well as the lower soil pH under the colonies than in the control sites, affected the nematode trophic groups in different ways. Compared to the control sites, there were significantly more bacterivorous nematodes but fewer herbivorous nematodes under the colonies. No predatory nematodes were found under the bird colonies and, in the case of the cormorant colony, no omnivorous nematodes. No significant differences in the abundance of fungivorous nematodes between the impact and the control plots were noticed. The results indicate that allochthonous input under bird colonies promotes microbial activity and the most opportunistic trophic group of nematodes, which may at least temporarily enhance decomposition and mineralisation processes and consequently affect nutrient cycling in the wetland soil. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:11:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d428f5ea24a04966bfb099f6c6099aa6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2083-4535 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:11:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | Polish Academy of Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Water and Land Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-d428f5ea24a04966bfb099f6c6099aa62023-10-16T12:12:37ZengPolish Academy of SciencesJournal of Water and Land Development2083-45352023-09-01No 587988https://doi.org/10.24425/jwld.2023.146600Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structureDawid Kozacki0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2847-2758Krassimira Ilieva-Makulec1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7570-3822Marek Hryniewicz2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9926-699XGrzegorz Makulec3National Institute of Horticultural Research, Department of Plant Protection, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, PolandCardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Institute of Biological Sciences, Warsaw, PolandInstitute of Technology and Life Sciences – National Research Institute, Falenty, PolandCardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Institute of Biological Sciences, Warsaw, PolandThis study aimed to investigate how great cormorants and grey herons affect the density and trophic diversity of soil nematodes under breeding colonies located in Stawy Raszyńskie Nature Reserve (central Poland). Soil samples from the colonies were compared to control samples from adjacent areas unaffected by birds. Samples were taken at each site (two colonies and two relevant control sites) to a depth of 20 cm, and the soil cores were split into topsoil (0–10 cm) and subsoil (10–20 cm). A modified Baermann method was used to extract nematodes from the soil. The soil under nests supported more abundant nematode communities, but with a lower trophic diversity compared to the control sites. The cormorants had a greater impact on nematodes than the herons. We found that the external nitrogen input, the higher organic matter content and abundance of ammonifying bacteria, as well as the lower soil pH under the colonies than in the control sites, affected the nematode trophic groups in different ways. Compared to the control sites, there were significantly more bacterivorous nematodes but fewer herbivorous nematodes under the colonies. No predatory nematodes were found under the bird colonies and, in the case of the cormorant colony, no omnivorous nematodes. No significant differences in the abundance of fungivorous nematodes between the impact and the control plots were noticed. The results indicate that allochthonous input under bird colonies promotes microbial activity and the most opportunistic trophic group of nematodes, which may at least temporarily enhance decomposition and mineralisation processes and consequently affect nutrient cycling in the wetland soil.https://journals.pan.pl/Content/128411/PDF/2023-03-JWLD-10.pdfbird excretagreat cormorantgrey heronnematodesnitrogen |
| spellingShingle | Dawid Kozacki Krassimira Ilieva-Makulec Marek Hryniewicz Grzegorz Makulec Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure Journal of Water and Land Development bird excreta great cormorant grey heron nematodes nitrogen |
| title | Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure |
| title_full | Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure |
| title_fullStr | Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure |
| title_short | Soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland: Effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure |
| title_sort | soil conditions under great cormorant and grey heron colonies in a wetland effect on soil nematode abundance and trophic structure |
| topic | bird excreta great cormorant grey heron nematodes nitrogen |
| url | https://journals.pan.pl/Content/128411/PDF/2023-03-JWLD-10.pdf |
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