Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs

Nematodes are the most abundant invertebrates in soils and are key prey in soil food webs. Uncovering their contribution to predator nutrition is essential for understanding the structure of soil food webs and the way energy channels through soil systems. Molecular gut content analysis of consumers...

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Published in:Oikos
Main Authors: Heidemann, Kerstin, Hennies, Annika, Schakowske, Johanna, Blumenberg, Lars, Ruess, Liliane, Scheu, Stefan, Maraun, Mark
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2014
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x
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spelling crwiley:10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x 2024-09-15T18:41:49+00:00 Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs Heidemann, Kerstin Hennies, Annika Schakowske, Johanna Blumenberg, Lars Ruess, Liliane Scheu, Stefan Maraun, Mark 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0706.2013.00872.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Oikos volume 123, issue 10, page 1199-1211 ISSN 0030-1299 1600-0706 journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x 2024-09-05T05:09:08Z Nematodes are the most abundant invertebrates in soils and are key prey in soil food webs. Uncovering their contribution to predator nutrition is essential for understanding the structure of soil food webs and the way energy channels through soil systems. Molecular gut content analysis of consumers of nematodes, such as soil microarthropods, using specific DNA markers is a novel approach for studying predator–prey interactions in soil. We designed new specific primer pairs (partial 18S rDNA) for individual soil‐living bacterial‐feeding nematode taxa ( Acrobeloides buetschlii, Panagrellus redivivus, Plectus velox and Plectus minimus ). Primer specificity was tested against more than 100 non‐target soil organisms. Further, we determined how long nematode DNA can be traced in the gut of predators. Potential predators were identified in laboratory experiments including nine soil mite (Oribatida, Gamasina and Uropodina) and ten springtail species (Collembola). Finally, the approach was tested under field conditions by analyzing five mite and three collembola species for feeding on the three target nematode species. The results proved the three primer sets to specifically amplify DNA of the respective nematode taxa. Detection time of nematode DNA in predators varied with time of prey exposure. Further, consumption of nematodes in the laboratory varied with microarthropod species. Our field study is the first definitive proof that free‐living nematodes are important prey for a wide range of soil microarthropods including those commonly regarded as detritivores. Overall, the results highlight the eminent role of nematodes as prey in soil food webs and for channelling bacterial carbon to higher trophic levels. Article in Journal/Newspaper Mite Springtail Wiley Online Library Oikos 123 10 1199 1211
institution Open Polar
collection Wiley Online Library
op_collection_id crwiley
language English
description Nematodes are the most abundant invertebrates in soils and are key prey in soil food webs. Uncovering their contribution to predator nutrition is essential for understanding the structure of soil food webs and the way energy channels through soil systems. Molecular gut content analysis of consumers of nematodes, such as soil microarthropods, using specific DNA markers is a novel approach for studying predator–prey interactions in soil. We designed new specific primer pairs (partial 18S rDNA) for individual soil‐living bacterial‐feeding nematode taxa ( Acrobeloides buetschlii, Panagrellus redivivus, Plectus velox and Plectus minimus ). Primer specificity was tested against more than 100 non‐target soil organisms. Further, we determined how long nematode DNA can be traced in the gut of predators. Potential predators were identified in laboratory experiments including nine soil mite (Oribatida, Gamasina and Uropodina) and ten springtail species (Collembola). Finally, the approach was tested under field conditions by analyzing five mite and three collembola species for feeding on the three target nematode species. The results proved the three primer sets to specifically amplify DNA of the respective nematode taxa. Detection time of nematode DNA in predators varied with time of prey exposure. Further, consumption of nematodes in the laboratory varied with microarthropod species. Our field study is the first definitive proof that free‐living nematodes are important prey for a wide range of soil microarthropods including those commonly regarded as detritivores. Overall, the results highlight the eminent role of nematodes as prey in soil food webs and for channelling bacterial carbon to higher trophic levels.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Heidemann, Kerstin
Hennies, Annika
Schakowske, Johanna
Blumenberg, Lars
Ruess, Liliane
Scheu, Stefan
Maraun, Mark
spellingShingle Heidemann, Kerstin
Hennies, Annika
Schakowske, Johanna
Blumenberg, Lars
Ruess, Liliane
Scheu, Stefan
Maraun, Mark
Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
author_facet Heidemann, Kerstin
Hennies, Annika
Schakowske, Johanna
Blumenberg, Lars
Ruess, Liliane
Scheu, Stefan
Maraun, Mark
author_sort Heidemann, Kerstin
title Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
title_short Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
title_full Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
title_fullStr Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
title_full_unstemmed Free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
title_sort free‐living nematodes as prey for higher trophic levels of forest soil food webs
publisher Wiley
publishDate 2014
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1600-0706.2013.00872.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.00872.x
genre Mite
Springtail
genre_facet Mite
Springtail
op_source Oikos
volume 123, issue 10, page 1199-1211
ISSN 0030-1299 1600-0706
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container_title Oikos
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