New perspectives on soil animal trophic ecology through the lens of C and N stable isotope ratios of oribatid mites

Knowledge of the trophic ecology of soil animals is important for understanding their high alpha diversity as well as their functional role in soil food webs and systems. In the last 20 years, the analysis of natural variations in stable isotope ratios (15N/14N, 13C/12C) has revolutionized our view on soil animal trophic ecology. Here, we review the state of the art of the trophic ecology of a highly abundant and diverse soil animal taxon, oribatid mites (Oribatida), investigated by stable isotope analyses. The review is based on 25 papers reporting stable isotope data of 292 oribatid mite taxa from 30 different sites. Four main findings emerged. (1) Oribatid mites cluster into six trophic groups, i.e. moss feeders, lichen feeders, primary decomposers, fungal feeders/secondary decomposers, predators/scavengers and marine algal feeders, plus one additional group, which incorporates CaCO3 in their cuticle for defence but still belongs to the fungal feeders/secondary decomposers group. (2)..., In this study, we reviewed the state of the art of the trophic ecology of a highly abundant and diverse soil animal taxon, oribatid mites (Oribatida), investigated by stable isotope analyses. The review is based on 25 papers reporting stable isotope data of 292 oribatid mite taxa from 30 different sites., For opening the attached files you need Excel and R.

了解土壤动物的营养生态学，对于理解其极高的α多样性（alpha diversity）以及它们在土壤食物网与土壤系统中的功能角色至关重要。近二十年来，对稳定同位素比值（15N/14N、13C/12C）自然变异的分析，彻底革新了我们对土壤动物营养生态学的认知。本研究针对一类丰度极高且多样性丰富的土壤动物类群——甲螨（Oribatida）——基于稳定同位素分析展开综述，梳理其营养生态学的研究前沿。本次综述共纳入25篇相关文献，涵盖来自30个不同采样点的292个甲螨类群的稳定同位素数据。本综述得出四项核心结论：(1) 甲螨可划分为六大营养类群，即苔藓取食者、地衣取食者、初级分解者、真菌取食者/次级分解者、捕食者/食腐者以及海洋藻类取食者；另有一类类群会在其体壁角质层中沉积碳酸钙（CaCO3）以抵御天敌，但仍隶属于真菌取食者/次级分解者类群。(2)……，本研究针对一类丰度极高且多样性丰富的土壤动物类群——甲螨（Oribatida）——基于稳定同位素分析展开综述，梳理其营养生态学的研究前沿。本次综述共纳入25篇相关文献，涵盖来自30个不同采样点的292个甲螨类群的稳定同位素数据。若需打开附件文件，需使用Excel与R语言软件。