Studies on the moss mites of Snowdonia (Acari: Oribatei). 2. The Cnicht

A faunal list of oribatid mites collected from the summit of the Cnicht, Snowdonia, at 2265 ft is given, together with critical notes on the taxonomy and distribution of several of the species. The list provides further evidence of the presence of arctic-alpine and European-alpine species of Oribatei on the mountain peaks of Britain. A comparison of the faunal list with lists of species recorded by the author on another peak in Snowdonia and on high ground in other parts of Britain (Peak District, Lake District) and by Block in Westmorland, provides evidence of a group of additional species which can be regarded as characteristic of upland areas in general of Britain and Europe.     

广东鼎湖山自然保护区土壤甲螨的调查研究（蜱螨亚纲：甲螨亚目）

以种类名录报道广东鼎湖山自然保护区的土壤甲螨58种,并记述新种巨杆棱甲螨Mochlozetes grandis sp.nov.此外还对该地区甲螨区系的特点作了初步分析。     

A list of oribatid mites (Acari,Oribatida) of Vietnam

A species list of identified oribatid mite taxa (Acari, Oribatida) in the fauna of Vietnam is provided. During 1967–2015, a total of 535 species/subspecies from 222 genera and 81 families was registered. Of these, 194 species/subspecies were described as new for science from Vietnam.     

The moss mites of Yes Tor, Dartmoor, Devon (Acari: Oribatida) and their evolutionary significance

A species list of oribatid mites collected from the summit of Yes Tor, Dartmoor, is given, together with notes on their distribution. Yes Tor lies south of latitude 51° in that part of Britain which remained ice free during the Pleistocene. The species found on Yes Tor are compared with the species recorded from the summits of 11 mountains lying north of latitude 53°, which were all ice-covered at the period of maximum glaciation. In the case of Yes Tor and these 11 northern montane sites, three similar faunal elements have been identified arctic-alpine species, European-alpine species and a group of British montane species that are also common in the lowlands. The view is advanced that the similarity of the montane oribatid fauna of Yes Tor with that of the mountains to the north of latitude 53° has resulted from the probable movements of the mites during Quaternary and postglacial times over an area extending from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean. It is suggested that these movements, while being largely spontaneous, have also been aided by transportation agents, both physical and biological.     

Microarthropod community structures (Oribatei and Collembola) in Tam Dao National Park, Vietnam

A study on the microarthropod community with special reference to species diversity of Oribatid and Collembola communities (Microarthropoda: Oribatei and Collembola) in Tam Dao National Park of Vietnam, a subtropical evergreen broad leaf alpine forest, was undertaken with the aim to explain how they are related to forest decline, and whether they can be used as bioindicators of forest plant succession. The results have shown that microarthropod community structures, particularly species diversity of oribatid and collembolan communities, are related to forest decline. Therefore they can be used as bioindicators of forest plant succession. In Tam Dao National Park, there was an inverse relation between species diversity of the oribatid and collembola communities. The species diversity of the oribatid community gradually decreased with forest decline whereas the species diversity of the collembola community gradually increased.     

“Jack‐of‐all‐trades” is parthenogenetic

Sex is evolutionarily more costly than parthenogenesis, evolutionary ecologists therefore wonder why sex is much more frequent than parthenogenesis in the majority of animal lineages. Intriguingly, parthenogenetic individuals and species are as common as or even more common than sexuals in some major and putative ancient animal lineages such as oribatid mites and rotifers. Here, we analyzed oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) as a model group because these mites are ancient (early Paleozoic), widely distributed around the globe, and include a high number of parthenogenetic species, which often co‐exist with sexual oribatid mite species. There is evidence that the reproductive mode is phylogenetically conserved in oribatid mites, which makes them an ideal model to test hypotheses on the relationship between reproductive mode and species'' ecological strategies. We used oribatid mites to test the frozen niche variation hypothesis; we hypothesized that parthenogenetic oribatid mites occupy narrow specialized ecological niches. We used the geographic range of species as a proxy for specialization as specialized species typically do have narrower geographic ranges than generalistic species. After correcting for phylogenetic signal in reproductive mode and demonstrating that geographic range size has no phylogenetic signal, we found that parthenogenetic lineages have a higher probability to have broader geographic ranges than sexual species arguing against the frozen niche variation hypothesis. Rather, the results suggest that parthenogenetic oribatid mite species are more generalistic than sexual species supporting the general‐purpose genotype hypothesis. The reason why parthenogenetic oribatid mite species are generalists with wide geographic range sizes might be that they are of ancient origin reflecting that they adapted to varying environmental conditions during evolutionary history. Overall, our findings indicate that parthenogenetic oribatid mite species possess a widely adapted general‐purpose genotype and therefore might be viewed as “Jack‐of‐all‐trades.”     

Review Oribatid mites of the Galápagos Islands – faunistics, ecology and speciation

The results from investigations on oribatid mites of the Galápagos archipelago during 10 years are presented. Samples were taken on all larger and most smaller islands of the archipelago, as well as in all vegetation zones and some special habitats such as grass or cactus litter and fumaroles. A total of 202 oribatid species belonging to 64 families were encountered; among them 81 species are new to science. The Oribatida occur from the littoral zone to the summit of the volcanoes. Diversity and abundance increases from the arid to the moister zones at higher elevations. Most species prefer moist habitats at medium to higher elevations of the islands, in some parts reaching remarkably high abundances (in the Scalesia zone of Santa Cruz approximately 18 000 individuals m–2). The species richness of an island depends on the altitude and number of available habitats rather than the area of the island. Many oribatid species on the Galápagos Islands have a wide biogeographical distribution. The majority originate from the Central and South American mainland, but several Pacific and even Holarctic elements were also found. In comparison with the species composition of the adjacent mainland, the oribatid mite fauna of the Galápagos Islands can be regarded as disharmonic. Sea surface transportation has been proved at least between the islands, which also applies to oribatid species living at higher elevations. Long distance dispersal can be assumed to be mainly hydrochorous. The oribatid fauna of the littoral and arid vegetation zones is presented in detail. Some species even inhabit such extreme habitats as warm fern litter in fumaroles or hot volcanic soils. Others were mainly found in or near agricultural areas, suggesting human introduction. Striking distribution patterns within the archipelago are discussed. The distribution of endemic forms in the genera Aeroppia, Scapheremaeus, Scheloribates and Cultrobates indicates both speciation on different islands, as well as speciation on the same island by occupying different habitats.     

Are tree trunks habitats or highways? A comparison of oribatid mite assemblages from hoop-pine bark and litter

Abstract Oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) are among the most diverse and abundant inhabitants of forest soil and litter, but also have species-rich assemblages on bark and in the canopies of trees. It is unclear whether the trunk of a tree acts simply as a 'highway' for movement of mites into and out of the canopy, or whether the trunk has a distinctive acarofauna. We compare oribatid assemblages from the trunk bark of hoop pine ( Araucaria cunninghamii ) with those from litter collected beneath the same trees. A 1.0 by 0.5 m area of bark was sampled from three trees at each of five sites using a knockdown insecticide. A 1-L sample of leaf litter was collected as close as possible to the base of each sampled tree. Mites were extracted using Tullgren funnels, identified to genus and morphospecies, and counted. Assemblages were almost 100% distinct, with only one oribatid morphospecies ( Pseudotocepheus sp.) collected from both litter and bark. Litter had a higher taxon richness than bark in total and per sample, but oribatids made up a greater percentage of the acarofauna in the bark samples. We had expected that the more consistent physical substrate of bark would be reflected in greater similarity of oribatid faunas on trunks than in litter; however, the opposite proved to be the case. We conclude that hoop-pine trunks are habitats rather than highways for oribatid mites. Based on the observed higher turnover among bark faunas, tree trunks may represent habitat islands whose colonisation by particular oribatid species is more stochastic than that of the more continuous 'sea' of litter.     

Review of oribatid mites as intermediate hosts of tapeworms of the Anoplocephalidae

A list of oribatid mites acting as intermediate hosts of tapeworms of the Anoplocephaldae is provided. to date, 127 species of oribatids included in 27 families, are implicated as intermediate hosts of the 14 genera and 27 species of anoplocephalid tapeworms. The most cited mites families are Oribatulidae with 35 species, Galumnidae with 22 species and Ceratozetidae with 15 species. Scheloribates laevigatus (Oribatulidae) is the species that demonstrated most susceptibility, both natural and experimental, to develop larval forms of anoplocephalid tapeworms. A theoretical-methodological model for parasitology based on the trophic characteristics of the intermediate and definitive mammalian hosts is reviewed.     

鼎湖山地区甲螨的新种和新纪录（蜱螨亚纲：甲螨亚目）

记述鼎湖山自然保护区土壤甲螨３新种,崔氏珠甲螨Ｄａｍａｅｕｓ（Ｔｅｃｔｏｄａｍａｅｕｓ）ｃｕｉｉＷａｎｇｅｔＬｕ．ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ,鼎湖赫甲螨Ｈｅｒｍａｎｎｉａ（Ｐｈｙｌｌｈｅｒｍａｎｎｉａ）ｄｉｎｇｈｕ－ｅｎｓｉｓ．ＷａｎｇｅｔＬｕ．ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．秀琴甲螨ＬｙｒｏｐｐｉａｄｅｌｉｃａｔａＬｕｅｔＷａｎｇ．ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ并报道５个中国新纪录种,奎氏爪哇甲螨ＪａｖａｃａｒｕｓｋｕｅｈｎｅｌｔｉＢａｌｏｇｈ     

Contribution of oribatid and mesostigmatid soil mites in ecologically based estimates of global species richness

Erwin’s method for estimating total global species richness assumes some host‐specificity among the canopy arthropods. This study examined possible host habitat specialization in two major groups of soil arthropods, the oribatid and mesostigmatid mites, by sampling beneath three tree species: Eucalyptus pilularis Smith, Eucalyptus propinqua Deane and Maiden and Allocasuarina torulosa (Aiton) L. Johnson. The sample sites were in the Lansdowne State Forest, New South Wales, Australia and the three tree species were selected on the basis of their known differential effects on soil. Sampling was conducted over three seasons, and 79 oribatid and 34 mesostigmatid species were identified from 25 196 and 3634 individuals, respectively. Tree species had little effect on mite species composition with only three oribatid species and no mesostigmatid species identified as host‐habitat specialists using a niche breadth measure. Of mite species found under E. pilularis, E. propinqua and A. torulosa trees, 2%, 1% and 0% were defined as host‐habitat specialists, respectively. In contrast, tree species had significant and consistent effects on mite community structure, which differed in relative abundance of the oribatid species, their size class distributions and species rankings. In the mesostigmatid communities, there was a difference in the ranking of the mite species among tree species. Although it was demonstrated that tree species have an impact on the soil environment, the differences between tree species were insufficient to change species composition. The low degree of host‐habitat specialization suggested that other factors were more important for determining mite species composition at a site, and soil mite host‐habitat specialization may not make a large contribution to estimates of total global species richness using methods such as those proposed by Erwin (1982) .     

Community structure,trophic position and reproductive mode of soil and bark-living oribatid mites in an alpine grassland ecosystem

The community structure, stable isotope ratios (¹⁵N/¹⁴N, ¹³C/¹²C) and reproductive mode of oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) were investigated in four habitats (upper tree bark, lower tree bark, dry grassland soil, forest soil) at two sites in the Central Alps (Tyrol, Austria). We hypothesized that community structure and trophic position of oribatid mites of dry grassland soils and bark of trees are similar since these habitats have similar abiotic characteristics (open, dry) compared with forest soil. Further, we hypothesized that derived taxa of oribatid mites reproducing sexually dominate on the bark of trees since species in this habitat consume living resources such as lichens. In contrast to our hypothesis, the community structure of oribatid mites differed among grassland, forest and bark indicating the existence of niche differentiation in the respective oribatid mite species. In agreement with our hypothesis, sexually reproducing taxa of oribatid mites dominated on the bark of trees whereas parthenogenetic species were more frequent in soil. Several species of bark-living oribatid mites had stable isotope signatures that were similar to lichens indicating that they feed on lichens. However, nine species that frequently occurred on tree bark did not feed on lichens according to their stable isotope signatures. No oribatid mite species could be ascribed to moss feeding. We conclude that sexual reproduction served as preadaptation for oribatid mites allowing them to exploit new habitats and new resources on the bark of trees. Abiotic factors likely are of limited importance for bark-living oribatid mites since harsh abiotic conditions are assumed to favor parthenogenesis.     

稻田甲螨的分类学研究（蜱螨亚纲：真螨目：甲螨亚目）

报道稻田甲螨种类共计30科36属42种,其中包括枝姣奥甲螨Pulchroppia(Pulchroppia)ramifera Wang et Li,sp.nov.。地枝奥甲螨Ramusella(Insculptoppia)humico-la Wang et Li,sp.nov.和长纹合若甲螨Zygoribatula longilinea Wang et Li,sp.nov.3新种,丝管囊甲螨Sacculozetes filosus Behan-Pelletier,1991,和尖足肋甲螨Podoribates cuspidatusSakakibara et Aoki,1966,2新纪录,此外,还提出一项新名Pulchroppia(Pulchroppia)mahunkai Wang et Li.本文除对新种和新纪录详细描述,对重要的优势种进行重描述外,还对稻田甲螨种群结构特点和存在争议的种类进行了讨论。     

Cryptic diversification in ancient asexuals: evidence from the bdelloid rotifer Philodina flaviceps

Bdelloid rotifers, darwinulid ostracods and some oribatid mites have been called 'ancient asexuals' as they speciated and survived over long-term evolutionary timescale without sexual recombination. Data on their genetic diversification are contrasting: within-species diversification is present mostly at a continental scale in a parthenogenetic oribatid mite, whereas almost no genetic diversification at all seems to occur within darwinulid ostracod species. Strangely enough, no clear data for bdelloid rotifers are available so far. In this paper, we analyse partial COI mtDNA sequences to show that a bdelloid rotifer, Philodina flaviceps, so far considered a single traditional morphological species, has actually been able to diversify into at least nine distinct evolutionary entities, with genetic distances between lineages comparable with those between different traditional species within the same genus. We discovered that local coexistence of such different independent lineages is very common: up to four lineages were found in a same stream, and up to three in a single moss sample of 5 cm(2). In contrast to the large-scale geographic pattern that has recently been reported in the oribatid mite, the spatial distribution of the bdelloid lineages provided evidence of micro-phylogeographic patterns. If the mtDNA diversity indicates that the lineages are independent and represent sympatric cryptic species within P. flaviceps, then the actual bdelloid diversity can be expected to be much greater than that recognized today.     

尖峰岭自然保护区扩大区域植物多样性研究

尖峰岭自然保护区2002年由省级上升为国家级自然保护区, 面积由原来的7,762 hm²增加至20,170 hm²。为建立一个比较完善的国家级自然保护区管理体系, 海南大学于2003年10月通过路线调查与标准样方相结合的方法对保护区扩大区域展开了植被资源调查工作。本次调查共记录到43种尖峰岭地区新记录种, 其中黄毛马兜铃(Aristolochia fulvicoma)、海南地不容(Stephania hainanensis)、卵叶石笔木(Tutcheria ovalifolia)、蜜茱萸(Melicope patulinervia)和南烛(Lyonia ovalifolia)等5种为海南特有种。在本次调查的9,600 m²天然林标准样方中共记录到高1.5 m以上的立木3,466株398种, 隶属于69科161属。在扩大区域内共有国家级珍稀濒危和保护植物41种, 其中国家I级保护植物4种, 新记录到的尖峰岭地区国家级濒危植物2种, 即毛茶(Antirhea chinensis)和琼棕(Chuniophoenix hainanensis), 并基本确定了这些植物的垂直分布状况。扩大区域热带低地雨林、热带山地雨林、热带山顶矮林3种群落类型的物种多样性指数均较高, 且Simpson指数(D)及Shannon-Wiener指数(H＇)均是热带山地雨林>热带低地雨林>热带山顶矮林; 均匀度则是热带山地雨林>热带山顶矮林>热带低地雨林。表明经过多年封山育林及实施天然林保护工程, 扩大区域内曾经受过强烈干扰的热带低地雨林和山地雨林已经得到了很好的恢复。     

Thermophysiology,microclimates, and species distributions of lizards in the mountains of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Thermophysiological traits, particularly thermal tolerances and sensitivity, are key to understanding how organisms are affected by environmental conditions. In the face of ongoing climate change, determining how physiological traits structure species’ ranges is especially important in tropical montane systems. In this study, we ask whether thermal sensitivity in physiological performance restricts montane lizards to high elevations and excludes them from the warmer environments reported at low elevations. For three montane lizard species in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we collect thermophysiological data from lizards in the highest elevation site of each species’ distribution, and ask how well the individuals exhibiting those traits would perform across the Atlantic Forest. We use microclimatic and organism‐specific models to directly relate environmental conditions to an organism's body temperature and physiological traits, and estimate measures of thermophysiological performance. Our findings demonstrate that thermophysiological constraints do not restrict montane lizards to high elevations in this system, and thus likely do not determine the warm boundaries of these montane species’ distributions. Results also suggest that competition may be important in limiting the warm boundaries of the species’ ranges for two of the focal species. These experimental results suggest that caution should be used when claiming that physiology drives patterns of diversity and endemism within montane environments. They also highlight the importance of interdisciplinary experimental studies that bridge the fields of evolution and ecology to improve predictions of biological responses to future environmental shifts.     

贵州施秉喀斯特地区林地土壤甲螨的群落组成及多样性（英文）

【目的】为了解施秉喀斯特地区林地土壤甲螨的分布和群落组成特点,明确中国西南喀斯特地区林地类型对土壤甲螨群落密度、组成和物种多样性的影响,对该区林地土壤甲螨的群落结构及多样性进行了的调查和分析。【方法】2012年8月选取了中国西南施秉喀斯特地区典型生境中的8个样地,每个样地9个取样点,用Berlese-Tullgren装置分离土样24 h。多样性分析采用常见的多样性指数;群落相似性分析采用Jaccard相似性系数(C_J);群落聚类分析分别采用Marczewski Steinhaus 距离(C_ms)和Bray-Curtis距离,应用R 2.11程序进行类平均法聚类。【结果】结果显示,中国西南喀斯特8个样地中土壤甲螨由少数的优势属和数量众多的稀有属组成。其中全菌甲螨属 Perscheloribates (22.48%)和长单翼甲螨属 Protoribates (11.45%)个体数量最为丰富。长单翼甲螨属 Protoribate、上罗甲螨属Epilohmannia、小奥甲螨属 Oppiella、小盾珠甲螨属 Suctobelbella 和盖头甲螨属 Tectocepheus 分布广泛。本区的甲螨组成（属级水平）表现出明显热带和亚热带地区特点。在天然常绿落叶阔叶林中,甲螨的个体数量和种类数较多,但多样性不高,而在人工针叶林中甲螨多样性最高。甲螨群落组成和分布特征多样,异质性高,特别是在天然常绿落叶阔叶林中突出。【结论】研究表明,施秉喀斯特生态系统的不同林分影响甲螨的物种多样性和群落稳定性,天然常绿落叶阔叶混交林是甲螨的“避难所”。     

The ecological distribution of reproductive mode in oribatid mites, as related to biological complexity

The high incidence of asexuality in oribatid mites presents an unusual opportunity for examining hypotheses for the maintenance of sex. There is a presumed range in age of asexual species: many oribatid species are phylogenetically clustered, occurring in speciose early-derivative families or genera without sexual species, while others are phylogenetically isolated from other asexual species, occurring in later derivative taxa with sexual congeners. We examined the distribution of oribatid mite reproductive mode in soil of corn fields, grassy and shrub fields, and forests in central New York State (three replicate plots of each type, with 25 samples per plot), to test three ecological predictions from current theory. (1) If overall biotic uncertainty, as generated by competitors and predators, mediates the ecological distribution of oribatid mites, then the proportion of asexual oribatid mites should be negatively correlated with biological diversity; we examine this prediction using literature data as well. (2) If Muller’s Ratchet (the stochastic loss of best genotypes, which is independent of environment), mediates the success of asexuality, then no ecological pattern should exist. (3) If general purpose genotypes are characteristic of asexual oribatid mites, their habitat distribution should be broader than that of sexual species. For each plot the level of asexuality was compared to indices of overall biotic diversity, as calculated from the pooled oribatid mite (competitors) and mesostigmatid mite (predator) communities. We found no negative correlation in this relationship in our own data or in the literature analysis of 290 faunal surveys from 50 literature sources, so we reject biotic uncertainty as an important determinant of reproductive mode distribution. When only data on phylogenetically clustered asexuals are considered, there is instead a positive correlation between asexuality and diversity that is not explained. Because of the latter pattern we tentatively reject Muller’s Ratchet as the primary factor maintaining reproductive mode in these mites, but cannot reject it for isolated asexual species. Niche breadth in sexual and asexual oribatid mites provides no support for widespread general purpose genotypes but broad patterns in the literature suggest that the idea needs further investigation. Possible complicating or unknown factors that are discussed include historical disturbance in the study area, the relationship between parasitism and general biotic diversity, and the level and source of genetic diversity in asexual oribatid mites.     

Oribatid Mites as Potential Vectors for Soil Microfungi: Study of Mite-Associated Fungal Species

The ability of soil-living oribatid mites to disperse fungal propagules on their bodies was investigated. Classical plating methods were applied to cultivate these fungi and to study their morphology. Molecular markers were used for further determination. The nuclear ribosomal large subunit and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer of DNA extracts of the cultured fungi as well as total DNA extracts of the mites themselves, also containing fungal DNA, were amplified and sequenced. Based on phylogenetic analysis, a total of 31 fungal species from major fungal groups were found to be associated with oribatid mites, indicating that mites do not selectively disperse specific species or species groups. The detected taxa were mainly saprobiontic, cosmopolitan (e.g., Alternaria tenuissima), but also parasitic fungi (Beauveria bassiana) for whose dispersal oribatid mites might play an important role. In contrast, no mycorrhizal fungi were detected in association with oribatid mites, indicating that their propagules are dispersed in a different way. In addition, fungi that are known to be a preferred food for oribatid mites such as the Dematiacea were not detected in high numbers. Results of this study point to the potential of oribatid mites to disperse fungal taxa in soil and indicate that co-evolutionary patterns between oribatid mites and their associated fungi might be rare or even missing in most cases, since we only detected ubiquitous taxa attached to the mites.