TY - JOUR
T1 - Amazonian earthworm biodiversity is heavily impacted by ancient and recent human disturbance
AU - Conrado, Ana C.
AU - Demetrio, Wilian Carlo
AU - Stanton, David W.G.
AU - Bartz, Marie Luise Carolina
AU - James, Samuel W.
AU - Santos, Alessandra
AU - Silva, Elodie
AU - Ferreira, Talita
AU - Acioli, Agno N. S.
AU - Casadei Ferreira, Alexandre
AU - Maia, Lilianne S.
AU - Silva, Telma A.C.
AU - Lavelle, Patrick
AU - Velasquez, Elena
AU - Tapia‐coral, Sandra Celia
AU - Muniz, Aleksander W.
AU - Segalla, Rodrigo F.
AU - Decaëns, Thibauld
AU - Nadolny, Herlon S.
AU - Peña‐Venegas, Clara P.
AU - Pasini, Amarildo
AU - De Oliveira Júnior, Raimundo C.
AU - TPI Network
AU - Kille, Peter
AU - Brown, George
AU - Cunha, Luis
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by the Newton Fund and Fundação Araucária (grant Nos. 45166.460.32093.02022015, NE/N000323/1), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) UK (grant No. NE/M017656/1), a European Union Horizon 2020 Marie-Curie fellowship to LC (MSCA-IF-2014-GF-660378), and DWGS (No. 796877), by CAPES scholarships to WCD, ACC, TF, RFS, AF, LM, HSN, TS, AM, and RSM (PVE A115/2013), Araucaria Foundation scholarships to LM, AS, ACC, and ES, Post-doctoral fellowships to DWGS (NERC grant NE/M017656/1) and ES (CNPq No. 150748/2014-0, 165702/2015-0), PEER (Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research Science Program) NAS/USAID award number AID-OAA-A-11-0001—project 3-188 to RMF and by CNPq grants, scholarships, and fellowships to ACF, GGB, RF, SWJ, CRC, EGN, and PL (Nos. 140260/2016-1, 307486/2013-3, 302462/2016-3, 401824/2013-6, 310690/2017-0, 303477/2018-0, 307179/2013-3, and 400533/2014-6). We thank INPA, UFOPA, Embrapa Rondônia, Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental, and Embrapa Amazônia Oriental and their staff for logistical support and the farmers for access to and permission to sample on their properties. Sampling permit No. 18131-6 for Tapajós National Forest was granted by ICMBio.
Funding Information:
The study was supported by the Newton Fund and Fundação Araucária (grant Nos. 45166.460.32093.02022015 , NE/N000323/1 ), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) UK (grant No. NE/M017656/1 ), a European Union Horizon 2020 Marie-Curie fellowship to LC ( MSCA-IF-2014-GF-660378 ), and DWGS (No. 796877 ), by CAPES scholarships to WCD, ACC, TF, RFS, AF, LM, HSN, TS, AM, and RSM ( PVE A115/2013 ), Araucaria Foundation scholarships to LM, AS, ACC, and ES, Post-doctoral fellowships to DWGS ( NERC grant NE/M017656/1 ) and ES ( CNPq No. 150748/2014-0 , 165702/2015-0 ), PEER (Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research Science Program) NAS/USAID award number AID-OAA-A-11-0001—project 3-188 to RMF and by CNPq grants, scholarships, and fellowships to ACF, GGB, RF, SWJ, CRC, EGN, and PL (Nos. 140260/2016-1 , 307486/2013-3 , 302462/2016-3 , 401824/2013-6 , 310690/2017-0 , 303477/2018-0 , 307179/2013-3 , and 400533/2014-6 ). We thank INPA, UFOPA, Embrapa Rondônia, Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental, and Embrapa Amazônia Oriental and their staff for logistical support and the farmers for access to and permission to sample on their properties. Sampling permit No. 18131-6 for Tapajós National Forest was granted by ICMBio.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Crassiclitellata
KW - Amazonian Dark Earths
KW - agriculture
KW - land-use change
KW - DNA barcoding
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165087
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165087
M3 - Article
C2 - 37379924
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 895
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 165087
ER -
