Microarthropod density and diversity respond little to spatial isolation

Abstract

Summary The effect of spatial isolation on the soil microarthropod community of a deciduous forest was investigated for 16 months. Soil animals were confined in plastic tubes (diameter: 7 cm; length: 15 cm). We expected the density and diversity of most microarthropods to decrease with time in isolated habitats and this decline to be more pronounced in species of high trophic level. We also expected that species that are top-down controlled, such as collembolans, would benefit from reduced predator densities whereas species suffering little from enemies, such as oribatid mites, would be little affected. In contrast to these hypotheses, the density and diversity of almost all microarthropod taxa (Gamasina, most groups of Oribatida and Collembola) were not significantly reduced by isolation. Also in contrast to our expectation, the density of predators (Gamasina) increased in isolated habitats. This increase may have resulted from the release of predator pressure, due to the exclusion of macrofauna predators. We conclude that soil microarthropods in the studied forest are insensitive to spatial isolation. Food generalism and parthenogenetic reproduction may enable them to persist in isolated communities.