Shifting of trophic niches of soil microarthropods may allow them to adapt to changing resource conditions as induced by global change processes. However, the capability of microarthropods to shift their trophic niches is little studied. Whereas some studies based on stable isotopes (¹⁵N/¹³C) point to distinct and narrow trophic niches, others indicate that trophic niches are plastic. Here, we investigated shifts in trophic niches of oribatid mites (Oribatida, Acari), a major soil detritivore microarthropod group, due to forest management, i.e., plantation of beech and spruce forests in Central Europe, using neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) markers. Due to differential microbial communities, we expected a fungi-based diet of oribatid mites in beech forest, but more bacterial contributions to the diet in spruce forest. Supporting these hypotheses, NLFA markers indicated that the trophic niches of each of the studied oribatid mite species differed between beech and spruce forests and shifted from feeding predominantly on litter and fungi in beech forest to more intensively feeding on bacteria in spruce forest. Oribatid mite species with the most pronounced differences in trophic niches included Achipteria coleoptrata, Eupelops hirtus, Eupelops plicatus and Liacarus xylariae, which had been classified as primary or secondary decomposers in previous studies. Overall, the results indicate that the ability of oribatid mite species to colonize different habitats and ecosystems is due to their ability to adjust their diet, i.e., to trophic plasticity. Changes in trophic niches in each of the studied oribatid mite species suggest that detritivores in soil may better cope with future changes in environmental conditions and associated changes in resource composition than species above the ground.

中文翻译：

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温带森林生态系统中乌龟螨的营养位变化，如中性脂质脂肪酸模式所示。

土壤节肢动物的营养位的转移可能使它们适应全球变化过程引起的资源条件变化。然而，很少有人研究节肢动物改变其营养位的能力。而一些基于稳定同位素的研究（¹⁵ N / ¹³C）指向不同而狭窄的营养位，其他表明营养位是可塑性的。在这里，我们调查了由于森林管理，即中欧的山毛榉和云杉林的种植，使用中性脂质脂肪酸（NLFA）标记，对主要土壤破坏微节肢动物群oribatid螨（Oribatida，Acari）的营养位的变化。 。由于存在不同的微生物群落，我们预计在山毛榉森林中以真菌为基础的奥利巴特螨的饮食，但是在云杉林中，细菌对饮食的贡献更大。支持这些假设的NLFA标记表明，每个已研究的螨螨的营养位在山毛榉和云杉林之间都不同，并且从主要以山毛榉森林的凋落物和真菌为食转变为以云杉林中的细菌为食。Achipteria coleoptrata，Eupelops hirtus，Eupelops plicatus的和Liacarus xylariae，已被归类为在以前的研究中的伯或仲分解剂。总体而言，结果表明，螨虫螨类能够在不同的生境和生态系统中定殖的能力归因于它们调节饮食的能力，即营养可塑性。研究的每个螨类螨的营养位的变化表明，土壤中的有害生物可能比地面上的物种更好地应对未来环境条件的变化以及资源构成的相关变化。