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dc.contributor.authorMcKie, Brendan G.
dc.contributor.authorTaylor, Astrid
dc.contributor.authorNilsson, Tobias
dc.contributor.authorFrainer, André
dc.contributor.authorGoedkoop, Willem
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-24T10:43:24Z
dc.date.available2023-08-24T10:43:24Z
dc.date.issued2023-02-08
dc.description.abstractThe microbial control agent <i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i> var. <i>israelensis</i> (Bti) has been successfully used worldwide to reduce abundances of biting Nematocera (Diptera), often with little direct impact on non-target organisms observed. However, the potential for additional indirect effects on other ecosystem properties, including on trophic linkages within food webs, is poorly known. We investigated the effects of multiple-year mosquito control treatments using the Bti product VectoBac<sup>®</sup>-G on the stable isotope composition of epigeal and soil-based consumers inhabiting replicate floodplains along the River Dalälven, Sweden. We observed significant changes in the isotopic composition of detritivores feeding at the base of floodplain food webs. Enchytraeid worms were characterised by 3.5% higher δ<sup>13</sup>C values in treated floodplains, suggesting increased consumption of δ<sup>13</sup>C-enriched food. The overall range of community-wide δ<sup>15</sup>N values was 56% greater in the treated floodplains, whilst δ<sup>15</sup>N values of oribatid mites were elevated by 97%. These results suggest extra fractionation in the transfer of nitrogen through floodplain food chains. We conjecture that the ecological mechanisms driving these food web shifts are (1) the mass mortality of high δ<sup>13</sup>C A. <i>sticticus</i> larvae, which leaves high concentrations of dead mosquito biomass deposited on soils at local scales, after the floodwaters have receded and (2) incorporation of the very high δ<sup>13</sup>C-enriched corn particles comprising the bulk of the VectoBac<sup>®</sup>-G product into floodplain food webs. Our results suggest that repeated applications of Bti might have wider, still largely unknown implications for nutrient and energy cycles within floodplain ecosystems.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMcKie, Taylor, Nilsson, Frainer, Goedkoop. Ecological effects of mosquito control with Bti: evidence for shifts in the trophic structure of soil- and ground-based food webs. Aquatic Sciences. 2023;85(2):1-15en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 2130445
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s00027-023-00944-0
dc.identifier.issn1015-1621
dc.identifier.issn1420-9055
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/30318
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherSpringeren_US
dc.relation.journalAquatic Sciences
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2023 The Author(s)en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)en_US
dc.titleEcological effects of mosquito control with Bti: evidence for shifts in the trophic structure of soil- and ground-based food websen_US
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)