Arthropod Community Responses Reveal Potential Predators and Prey of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in a Citrus Orchard

The contributions of soil arthropods to entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) food webs are mainly studied in artificial conditions. We investigated changes arthropod communities a citrus orchard following inundation with Steinernema feltiae or Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. hypothesized that taxa, which decline increase response EPN augmentation, represent potential prey predators EPN, respectively. Soil was sampled periodically after nematodes were applied, DNA extracted from organisms recovered by sucrose centrifugation, libraries prepared, and the ITS2 CO1 genes sequenced using Illumina protocol. Species 107 microarthropod (mites collembola) families 121 insect identified. Amplicon sequence variant (ASV) reads for H. bacteriophora less than 10% those S. three days inundation, whereas ASVs double plots compared feltiae. Significantly fewer untreated suggest possibility preyed on mites Collembola addition insects. responses over time individual species (MOTU) regulation (up down) these resulted cumulative many species, rather few key species.