TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal fluctuations attenuate stimulatory or inhibitory impacts of colonial birds on abundance, structure and diversity of soil biota
AU - Pen-Mouratov, Stanislav
AU - Dayan, Tamar
N1 - Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 Pen-Mouratov and Dayan.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Soil microorganisms and free-living nematodes were investigated in association with the nesting and roosting habitats of the following piscivorous and omnivorous colonial birds: black kite (Milvus migrans), great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) and little egret (Egretta garzetta), in Israel’s Mediterranean region. Abiotic variables, abundance, trophic structure, sex ratio and genus diversity of soil free-living nematodes, and total abundance of bacteria and fungi, were measured during the wet season, following our previous study conducted during the dry season. The observed soil properties were important drivers of soil biota structure. Presence of the most efficient elements for soil organisms, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, was strongly dependent on the diet of the compared piscivorous and omnivorous bird colonies; levels of these nutrients were notably higher in the bird habitats than in their respective control sites during the study period. Ecological indices showed that the different species of colonial birds can have different (stimulatory or inhibitory) impacts on abundance and diversity of the soil biota, affecting the structure of the soil free-living nematode population at the generic, trophic and sexual levels during the wet season. A comparison with results from the dry season illustrated that seasonal fluctuations can change, and even attenuate the effect of bird activity on the abundance, structure and diversity of the soil communities.
AB - Soil microorganisms and free-living nematodes were investigated in association with the nesting and roosting habitats of the following piscivorous and omnivorous colonial birds: black kite (Milvus migrans), great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) and little egret (Egretta garzetta), in Israel’s Mediterranean region. Abiotic variables, abundance, trophic structure, sex ratio and genus diversity of soil free-living nematodes, and total abundance of bacteria and fungi, were measured during the wet season, following our previous study conducted during the dry season. The observed soil properties were important drivers of soil biota structure. Presence of the most efficient elements for soil organisms, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, was strongly dependent on the diet of the compared piscivorous and omnivorous bird colonies; levels of these nutrients were notably higher in the bird habitats than in their respective control sites during the study period. Ecological indices showed that the different species of colonial birds can have different (stimulatory or inhibitory) impacts on abundance and diversity of the soil biota, affecting the structure of the soil free-living nematode population at the generic, trophic and sexual levels during the wet season. A comparison with results from the dry season illustrated that seasonal fluctuations can change, and even attenuate the effect of bird activity on the abundance, structure and diversity of the soil communities.
KW - bird dropping
KW - bird nesting area
KW - bird roosting area
KW - seasonal variation
KW - soil biota
KW - soil nematode diversity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159863476&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1080625
DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1080625
M3 - مقالة
C2 - 37206328
SN - 1664-302X
VL - 14
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
M1 - 1080625
ER -