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26 October 2023 Onthophagus taurus Increases Soil Microbes Associated with Nutrient Cycling in California Pastureland Soils
Suzanne Lipton, Rachel S. Meyer, Greg Richardson, Stacy M. Philpott
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Abstract

When grazed intensively, grasslands can result in biodiversity loss and increased greenhouse gas emissions. However, when grasslands are maintained using agroecological practices, they can create diverse habitats and act as carbon sinks. Carbon sequestration in soil is mediated by the soil microbial community, which is largely affected by influxes of nutrients and the soil arthropod community. One such arthropod, the tunneling dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Schreber 1759) incorporates animal dung into the soil, influencing both the soil microbial community and nutrient cycling. While dung beetles do affect the soil microbial community, there is a dearth of studies that examine the effect of tunneling dung beetles on soil microbial communities that may be associated with nutrient cycling. This study looks at the effect of the tunneling dung beetle O. taurus on the fungal, bacterial, and archaeal community of grassland soil in an in situ experiment in California's Central Coast region, using eDNA metabarcoding of the 16S locus for bacteria and archaea and the ITS1 locus for fungi. We find that O. taurus has a clear effect on the soil microbial community and its presence increases the abundance of soil microbes affiliated with degrading plant materials and carbohydrate metabolism.

Suzanne Lipton, Rachel S. Meyer, Greg Richardson, and Stacy M. Philpott "Onthophagus taurus Increases Soil Microbes Associated with Nutrient Cycling in California Pastureland Soils," Rangeland Ecology and Management 91(1), 24-29, (26 October 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2023.07.007
Received: 15 November 2022; Accepted: 31 July 2023; Published: 26 October 2023
KEYWORDS
Agroecology
central coast
dung beetle
grazing
next-generation sequencing
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