The nematode-based food-chain of a temperate deciduous forest

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It is well known from laboratory no-choice studies that oribatid mites and collembolans feed on nema-todes. Here we investigate if this has relevance in the field. In the first phase of this ongoing DFG project we established species-specific primers (~ 200 bp of the COI region) for three nematode species, which were consumed by soil microarthropods (oribatid mites, mesostigmate mites, collembolans) when offered as diet in the laboratory. Using these primers we could prove this trophic link under field conditions and moreover were able to distinguish between consumption of living and dead prey. In the last year of the project we intend to (1) investigate how long DNA of three nematode prey species can be detected in the gut of predators and hence serve as trophic marker, and (2) test for nematode prey in the guts of different soil microarthropod species collected in the field. Ultimately, we aim at a better understanding of nematode-based food-chains of temperate deciduous forest.