Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures
Antarctic soil ecosystems are amongst the most simplified on Earth and include only few soil arthropod species, generally believed to be opportunistic omnivorous feeders. Using stable isotopic analyses, we investigated the food choice of two common and widely distributed Antarctic soil arthropod spe...
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:3123 2024-06-09T07:37:57+00:00 Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures Bokhorst, S. Ronfort, C. Huiskes, A. Convey, P. Aerts, R. 2007 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/3123/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4 unknown Springer Bokhorst, S.; Ronfort, C.; Huiskes, A.; Convey, P. orcid:0000-0001-8497-9903 Aerts, R. 2007 Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures. Polar Biology, 30 (8). 983-990. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4> Zoology Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2007 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4 2024-05-15T08:44:37Z Antarctic soil ecosystems are amongst the most simplified on Earth and include only few soil arthropod species, generally believed to be opportunistic omnivorous feeders. Using stable isotopic analyses, we investigated the food choice of two common and widely distributed Antarctic soil arthropod species using natural abundances of 13C and 15N and an isotope labelling study. In the laboratory we fed the isotomid springtail Cryptopygus antarcticus six potential food sources (one algal species, two lichens and three mosses). Our results showed a clear preference for algae and lichens rather than mosses. These results were corroborated by field data comparing stable isotope signatures from the most dominant cryptogams and soil arthropods (C. antarcticus and the oribatid mite Alaskozetes antarcticus). Thus, for the first time in an Antarctic study, we present clear evidence that these soil arthropods show selectivity in their choice of food and have a preference for algae and lichens above mosses. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alaskozetes antarcticus Antarc* Antarctic antarcticus Cryptopygus antarcticus Polar Biology Mite Springtail Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Polar Biology 30 8 983 990 |
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Open Polar |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
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topic |
Zoology |
spellingShingle |
Zoology Bokhorst, S. Ronfort, C. Huiskes, A. Convey, P. Aerts, R. Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
topic_facet |
Zoology |
description |
Antarctic soil ecosystems are amongst the most simplified on Earth and include only few soil arthropod species, generally believed to be opportunistic omnivorous feeders. Using stable isotopic analyses, we investigated the food choice of two common and widely distributed Antarctic soil arthropod species using natural abundances of 13C and 15N and an isotope labelling study. In the laboratory we fed the isotomid springtail Cryptopygus antarcticus six potential food sources (one algal species, two lichens and three mosses). Our results showed a clear preference for algae and lichens rather than mosses. These results were corroborated by field data comparing stable isotope signatures from the most dominant cryptogams and soil arthropods (C. antarcticus and the oribatid mite Alaskozetes antarcticus). Thus, for the first time in an Antarctic study, we present clear evidence that these soil arthropods show selectivity in their choice of food and have a preference for algae and lichens above mosses. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bokhorst, S. Ronfort, C. Huiskes, A. Convey, P. Aerts, R. |
author_facet |
Bokhorst, S. Ronfort, C. Huiskes, A. Convey, P. Aerts, R. |
author_sort |
Bokhorst, S. |
title |
Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
title_short |
Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
title_full |
Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
title_fullStr |
Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
title_full_unstemmed |
Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
title_sort |
food choice of antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/3123/ https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4 |
geographic |
Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic |
genre |
Alaskozetes antarcticus Antarc* Antarctic antarcticus Cryptopygus antarcticus Polar Biology Mite Springtail |
genre_facet |
Alaskozetes antarcticus Antarc* Antarctic antarcticus Cryptopygus antarcticus Polar Biology Mite Springtail |
op_relation |
Bokhorst, S.; Ronfort, C.; Huiskes, A.; Convey, P. orcid:0000-0001-8497-9903 Aerts, R. 2007 Food choice of Antarctic soil arthropods clarified by stable isotope signatures. Polar Biology, 30 (8). 983-990. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-007-0256-4 |
container_title |
Polar Biology |
container_volume |
30 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
983 |
op_container_end_page |
990 |
_version_ |
1801382415377104896 |