Nitrogen and phosphorus are thought to be the most important limiting nutrients in most terrestrial ecosystems, but little is known about how other elements may limit the abundance of arthropods. We utilized a fully factorial fertilization experiment that manipulated macronutrients (N&P, together) and micronutrients (calcium, sodium, potassium, separately), in large 30 x 30 m2 plots and sampled litter arthropods via pitfall trapping to determine the nutrients that limit this group. An invasive ant, Nylanderia fulva, numerically dominated the community and increased in abundance 13% in plots fertilized by Ca. Detritivores were not limited by any nutrient combination, but macronutrients increased predator abundance 43%. We also found that some combinations of macronutrients and micronutrients had toxic or stressful effects on the arthropod community: detritivores decreased in abundance 23% with the combination of macronutrients, Ca, and K, and 22% with macronutrients and K; and N. fulva decreased in abundance 24% in plots fertilized by K and 45% in plots fertilized by the combination of Na and K. Our work supports growing evidence that micronutrients, especially Ca and K, may be important in structuring grassland arthropod communities, and suggests that micronutrients may affect whether or not invasive ants reach numerical dominance.

中文翻译：

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疯狂的蚂蚁渴望钙：大量营养素和微量营养素可以限制和压力入侵草原棕色食物网

氮和磷被认为是大多数陆地生态系统中最重要的限制性营养物质，但人们对其他元素如何限制节肢动物的丰度知之甚少。我们利用全因子施肥实验，在 30 x 30 平方米的大地块中操纵常量营养素（N&P，一起）和微量营养素（钙、钠、钾，分别），并通过陷阱陷阱对枯枝落叶节肢动物进行采样，以确定限制这一群体的营养素。一种侵入性蚂蚁，Nylanderia fulva，在数量上占主导地位，在被 Ca 施肥的地块中数量增加了 13%。Detritivores 不受任何营养组合的限制，但大量营养素增加了 43% 的捕食者丰度。我们还发现，宏量营养素和微量营养素的某些组合对节肢动物群落具有毒性或压力影响：大量营养素、Ca 和 K 的组合使碎屑动物的丰度减少 23%，而宏量营养素和 K 的组合减少了 22%；N. fulva 的丰度在 K 施肥的地块中减少了 24%，在 Na 和 K 组合施肥的地块中减少了 45%。我们的工作支持越来越多的证据表明微量营养素，尤其是 Ca 和 K，可能对构建草原节肢动物群落很重要，并表明微量营养素可能会影响入侵蚂蚁是否达到数量优势。