Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum
Evolution optimizes the performance of living organisms through budgeting of limited resources, leading to life-history trade-offs. Many life-history traits are related to body size with larger species typically exhibiting a slower pace of life and lower fecundity. However, soil-living organisms may...
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Geoderma |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000448 |
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| author | Jing-Zhong Lu Tobias Pfingstl Robert R. Junker Mark Maraun Amandine Erktan Stefan Scheu |
| author_facet | Jing-Zhong Lu Tobias Pfingstl Robert R. Junker Mark Maraun Amandine Erktan Stefan Scheu |
| author_sort | Jing-Zhong Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Evolution optimizes the performance of living organisms through budgeting of limited resources, leading to life-history trade-offs. Many life-history traits are related to body size with larger species typically exhibiting a slower pace of life and lower fecundity. However, soil-living organisms may exhibit size-independent life-history strategies due to habitat space constraints, but this has never been tested. Here, we synthesize life-history traits in springtails (Insecta: Collembola) and mites (Acari: Oribatida, Astigmata, Mesostigmata), the most abundant microarthropods worldwide, living mainly in litter and the pore space of soil. We related life-history traits to body size and individual metabolic rate, and showed that life-history traits of soil microarthropods display a trade-off between lifespan and reproductive rate, spanning a continuum from fast to slow life-history strategies. Oribatida exhibit remarkably slow life-histories and long lifespans with lower reproductive rates than Collembola, Astigmata and Mesostigmata. Despite fresh body mass of soil microarthropods varying by three orders of magnitude, fast and slow life-history strategies occurred in all size classes suggesting largely size-independent life-history strategies. Overall, these findings indicate a soil animal economics spectrum that bears key implications for understanding local biodiversity and the coexistence of soil animal species, such as how Collembola and Oribatida coexist worldwide. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ec81d69205a04a1ba331a62caeb48843 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1872-6259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geoderma |
| spelling | doaj-art-ec81d69205a04a1ba331a62caeb488432025-08-20T02:04:33ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-03-0145511720610.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117206Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrumJing-Zhong Lu0Tobias Pfingstl1Robert R. Junker2Mark Maraun3Amandine Erktan4Stefan Scheu5J.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany; Corresponding author.Institute of Biology, University of Graz, Unversitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, AustriaEvolutionary Ecology of Plants, Department of Biology, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Str. 8, 35032 Marburg, GermanyJ.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, GermanyJ.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany; IRD, UMR Eco&Sols, Institut Agro, Batiment 12, 34060 Montpellier, FranceJ.F. Blumenbach Institute of Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073 Göttingen, Germany; Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen, GermanyEvolution optimizes the performance of living organisms through budgeting of limited resources, leading to life-history trade-offs. Many life-history traits are related to body size with larger species typically exhibiting a slower pace of life and lower fecundity. However, soil-living organisms may exhibit size-independent life-history strategies due to habitat space constraints, but this has never been tested. Here, we synthesize life-history traits in springtails (Insecta: Collembola) and mites (Acari: Oribatida, Astigmata, Mesostigmata), the most abundant microarthropods worldwide, living mainly in litter and the pore space of soil. We related life-history traits to body size and individual metabolic rate, and showed that life-history traits of soil microarthropods display a trade-off between lifespan and reproductive rate, spanning a continuum from fast to slow life-history strategies. Oribatida exhibit remarkably slow life-histories and long lifespans with lower reproductive rates than Collembola, Astigmata and Mesostigmata. Despite fresh body mass of soil microarthropods varying by three orders of magnitude, fast and slow life-history strategies occurred in all size classes suggesting largely size-independent life-history strategies. Overall, these findings indicate a soil animal economics spectrum that bears key implications for understanding local biodiversity and the coexistence of soil animal species, such as how Collembola and Oribatida coexist worldwide.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000448Species coexistenceSoil biodiversityFunctional traitr-K selectionFast-slow continuumLife-history tactics |
| spellingShingle | Jing-Zhong Lu Tobias Pfingstl Robert R. Junker Mark Maraun Amandine Erktan Stefan Scheu Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum Geoderma Species coexistence Soil biodiversity Functional trait r-K selection Fast-slow continuum Life-history tactics |
| title | Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum |
| title_full | Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum |
| title_fullStr | Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum |
| title_short | Life history traits in microarthropods: Evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum |
| title_sort | life history traits in microarthropods evidence for a soil animal economics spectrum |
| topic | Species coexistence Soil biodiversity Functional trait r-K selection Fast-slow continuum Life-history tactics |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125000448 |
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