TY  - JOUR
AU  - Donald, J.
AU  - Maxfield, P.
AU  - Leroy, C.
AU  - Ellwood, M.D.F.
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Epiphytic suspended soils from Borneo and Amazonia differ in their microbial community composition
T2  - Acta Oecol.
JO  - Acta Oecologica
VL  - 106
PB  - Elsevier B.V.
KW  - Asplenium
KW  - Bacteria
KW  - Borneo
KW  - Bromeliaceae
KW  - Canopy
KW  - French Guiana
KW  - Fungi
KW  - Plfa
KW  - Rainforest
KW  - bacterium
KW  - community composition
KW  - epiphyte
KW  - fungus
KW  - microbial community
KW  - niche
KW  - relative abundance
KW  - soil microorganism
KW  - species diversity
KW  - tropical forest
KW  - Amazonia
KW  - Danum Valley
KW  - East Malaysia
KW  - Malaysia
KW  - Nouragues
KW  - Sabah
KW  - Asplenium nidus
KW  - Aves
KW  - Bacteria (microorganisms)
N2  - Microbial organisms support the high species diversity associated with tropical forests, and likely drive functional processes, but microorganisms found in rainforest canopies are not well understood. We quantified the microbial diversity of suspended soils from two classical epiphytic model systems (bromeliads & bird's nest ferns) across two localities: the Nouragues Reserve in French Guiana and Danum Valley in Malaysian Borneo. Non-epiphytic suspended soils were also collected as controls at the Nouragues Reserve. Effects of epiphyte type and sample location on microbial community composition were determined using Phospholipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) analysis. Total microbial biomass remained constant across the suspended soil types, but PLFA peaks denoting the relative abundance of different microbes varied between bromeliads, bird's nest ferns and non-epiphytic control soils. Suspended soils associated with bird's nest ferns from Borneo contained a microbial community significantly different in composition from those of congeneric bird's nest ferns from Amazonia, due to shifts in the relative abundance of fungi and bacteria. Our findings reveal that epiphytes create convergent niches for microorganisms in tropical canopies, while highlighting the sensitive nature of suspended soil microbial communities. © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS
SN  - 1146609x (Issn)
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2020.103586
N1  - exported from refbase (http://php.ecofog.gf/refbase/show.php?record=959), last updated on Mon, 08 Feb 2021 11:08:16 -0300
ID  - Donald_etal2020
ER  -