Warming alters cascading effects of a dominant arthropod predator on fungal community composition in the Arctic.

ABSTRACT: Rapid climate change in the Arctic is altering microbial structure and function, with important consequences for the global ecosystem. Emerging evidence suggests organisms in higher trophic levels may also influence microbial communities, but whether warming alters these effects is unclear. Wolf spiders are dominant Arctic predators whose densities are expected to increase with warming. These predators have temperature-dependent effects on decomposition via their consumption of fungal-feeding detritivores, suggesting they may indirectly affect the microbial structure as well. To address this, we used a fully factorial mesocosm experiment to test the effects of wolf spider density and warming on litter microbial structure in Arctic tundra. We deployed replicate litter bags at the surface an

SUBMITTER: Koltz AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11253614 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature