Prolonged exposure to manure from livestock administered antibiotics decreases ecosystem carbon-use efficiency and alters nitrogen cycling

Wepking, C., Badgley, B., Barrett, J. E., Knowlton, K. F., Lucas, J. M., Minick, K. J., Ray, P. P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8375-8279, Shawver, S. E. and Strickland, M. S. (2019) Prolonged exposure to manure from livestock administered antibiotics decreases ecosystem carbon-use efficiency and alters nitrogen cycling. Ecology Letters, 22 (12). pp. 2067-2076. ISSN 1461-0248 doi: 10.1111/ele.13390

Abstract/Summary

Microbial communities drive soil ecosystem function but are also susceptible to environmental disturbances. We investigated whether exposure to manure sourced from cattle either administered or not administered antibiotics affected microbially-mediated terrestrial ecosystem function. We quantified changes in microbial community composition, and terrestrial elemental cycling via a stable isotope pulse-chase. Exposure to manure from antibiotic-treated cattle caused: i) changes in microbial community structure; and ii) alterations in elemental cycling throughout the terrestrial system. This exposure caused changes in fungal:bacterial, as well as changes in bacterial community structure. Additionally, exposure to manure from cattle treated with pirlimycin resulted in an approximate two-fold increase in ecosystem respiration of recently fixed-carbon, and a greater proportion of recently-added nitrogen in plant and soil pools compared to the control manure. Manure from antibiotic-treated cattle therefore affects terrestrial ecosystem function via the soil microbiome, causing decreased ecosystem carbon use efficiency, and altered nitrogen cycling.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/85786
Identification Number/DOI	10.1111/ele.13390
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Animal Sciences > Animal, Dairy and Food Chain Sciences (ADFCS)- DO NOT USE
Publisher	Wiley
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