Species assemblages and diets of Collembola in the organic matter accumulated over an old tar deposit

Servane Gillet (1) , Jean-François Ponge (1)

1 ECOTROP - Fonctionnement, évolution et mécanismes régulateurs des écosystèmes forestiers

An oil refinery was abandoned in 1964 at Merkwiller-Pechelbrorm (Alsace, France). We investigated the food diets and species assemblages of collembolan communities living in a thick pasty tar deposit overlaid by an organic soil, by comparison with an adjacent unpolluted plot. At the polluted plot the species richness of the springtail community was low (nine species, versus 27 at the unpolluted. plot) but its total abundance was at the same level in both plots. Most springtails consumed more fungi than bacteria at the polluted plot, contrary to the unpolluted plot. Changes in habitat features and food resources might explain the observed decrease in local biodiversity, rather than direct PAH toxicity.

Mots clés: Collembolan communities; Gut contents; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Domaines: Science des sols

Servane Gillet, Jean-François Ponge. Species assemblages and diets of Collembola in the organic matter accumulated over an old tar deposit. European Journal of Soil Biology, 2005, 41 (1-2), pp.39-44. ⟨10.1016/j.ejsobi.2005.07.001⟩. ⟨hal-00496566⟩