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Conrado AC, Demetrio WC, Stanton DWG, Bartz MLC, James SW, Santos A, da Silva E, Ferreira T, Acioli ANS, Ferreira AC, Maia LS, Silva TAC, Lavelle P, Velasquez E, Tapia-Coral SC, Muniz AW, Segalla RF, Decaëns T, Nadolny HS, Peña-Venegas CP, Pasini A, de Oliveira Júnior RC, Kille P, Brown GG, Cunha L. Amazonian earthworm biodiversity is heavily impacted by ancient and recent human disturbance. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 895:165087. [PMID: 37379924 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Despite the importance of earthworms for soil formation, more is needed to know about how Pre-Columbian modifications to soils and the landscape. Gaining a deeper understanding is essential for comprehending the historical drivers of earthworm communities and the development of effective conservation strategies in the Amazon rainforest. Human disturbance can significantly impact earthworm diversity, especially in rainforest soils, and in the particular case of the Amazonian rainforest, both recent and ancient anthropic practices may be important. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils found throughout the Amazon Basin, created by sedentary habits and intensification patterns of pre-Colombian societies primarily developed in the second part of the Holocene period. We have sampled earthworm communities in three Brazilian Amazonian (ADEs) and adjacent reference soils (REF) under old and young forests and monocultures. To better assess taxonomic richness, we used morphology and the barcode region of the COI gene to identify juveniles and cocoons and delimit Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs). Here we suggest using Integrated Operational Taxonomical units (IOTUs) which combine both morphological and molecular data and provide a more comprehensive assessment of diversity, while MOTUs only rely on molecular data. A total of 970 individuals were collected, resulting in 51 taxonomic units (IOTUs, MOTUs, and morphospecies combined). From this total, 24 taxonomic units were unique to REF soils, 17 to ADEs, and ten were shared between both soils. The highest richness was found in old forest sites for ADEs (12 taxonomic units) and REFs (21 taxonomic units). The beta-diversity calculations reveal a high species turnover between ADEs and REF soils, providing evidence that ADEs and REFs possess distinct soil biota. Furthermore, results suggest that ADE sites, formed by Pre-Columbian human activities, conserve a high number of native species in the landscape and maintain a high abundance, despite their long-term nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C Conrado
- Biochemistry Department, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 81531-980, Brazil
| | - Wilian C Demetrio
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil
| | | | - Marie L C Bartz
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Samuel W James
- Maharishi International University, Fairfield, IA 52557, United States
| | - Alessandra Santos
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil
| | | | - Talita Ferreira
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil
| | - Agno N S Acioli
- Federal University of Amazonas, Manaus, AM 69067-005, Brazil
| | - Alexandre C Ferreira
- Entomology Department, Federal University of Paraná, 81530-900 Curitiba, PR, Brazil
| | - Lilianne S Maia
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil
| | - Telma A C Silva
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Patrick Lavelle
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Cali 763537, Colombia
| | - Elena Velasquez
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Palmira 32 #12-00, Colombia
| | | | - Aleksander W Muniz
- Entomology Department, Federal University of Paraná, 81530-900 Curitiba, PR, Brazil; Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental, Manaus, AM 69010-970, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo F Segalla
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil
| | - Thibaud Decaëns
- CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Herlon S Nadolny
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil
| | | | - Amarildo Pasini
- Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, PR 86057-970, Brazil
| | | | - Peter Kille
- Cardiff University, Cardiff CF103AT, United Kingdom
| | - George G Brown
- Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil; Embrapa Florestas, Colombo, PR 83411-000, Brazil
| | - Luís Cunha
- Centre for Functional Ecology, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, 3000-456 Coimbra, Portugal; School of Applied Sciences, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF374BD, United Kingdom.
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