Trophic niche differentiation in soil microarthropods (Oribatida, Acari):: evidence from stable isotope ratios (15N/14N)

The large number of animals that coexist in soil without any clear niche differentiation has puzzled biologists for a long time. We investigated stable isotope ratios (N-15/N-14) in a diverse group of soil microarthropods, oribatid mites, to evaluate trophic niche differentiation. The natural variation of the stable isotopes (15) N/N-14 was measured in 36 species/taxa from four beech and beech-oak forests. Signatures of delta(15)N formed a gradient spanning over 12 delta units suggesting that (a) different species occupy different trophic niches and (b) oribatid mites span three to four trophic levels. This study for the first time documented strong trophic niche differentiation in decomposer microarthropods. The results suggest that trophic niche differentiation within taxonomic groups significantly contributes to the high diversity of soil animal taxa. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.