Figure 1.
Changes in (A) Gram-positive bacterial PLFAs, (B) Gram-negative bacterial PLFAs, (C) fungal PLFA 18:2ω6c and (D) microbial activity assessed by fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, after the passage of the three different animal manures (cow, horse and pig) through the gut of the earthworm species Eisenia andrei.
Values are means ± SE (n = 5). Different letters indicate significant differences between samples (Tukey HSD test; α = 0.05). Controls are the manures incubated without earthworms.
Table 1.
PLFA yields (µg g−1 dw) in control and cast samples derived from the three types of animal manure (cow, horse and pig).
Table 2.
ANOVA for total, Gram-positive, Gram-negative and fungal PLFAs and fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis for the three types of animal manure (cow, horse and pig) incubated with and without earthworms.
Figure 2.
Changes in microbial community structure after the passage of the three different animal manures (cow, horse and pig) through the gut of the earthworm species Eisenia andrei.
Principal component analysis performed on the twenty-seven PLFAs identified in cast (filled symbols) and control (open symbols) samples derived from the different animal manures. The first and second principal components (PC1 and PC2) explain 61 and 19% of the variance respectively. Values are means ± SE. Controls are the manures incubated without earthworms.