Ecosystem engineering by leaf-rolling mites enhances arthropod diversity
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Ecosystem engineering by leaf-rolling mites enhances arthropod diversity Samuel Novais 1,2,3 & Armando Aguirre-Jaimes 4 & Mauricio Quesada 2,3 & Vicente Hernández-Ortiz 4 Received: 29 April 2020 / Revised: 21 September 2020 / Accepted: 25 September 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Many arthropods modify parts of plants through the construction of domiciles or by consuming plant tissues that, after abandoned, can be used as shelter by other arthropods in a facilitating interaction process. We examined, for the first time, the potential of leaf-rolling mites to indirectly influence arthropod communities in natural forests by providing shelter sites. In early June 2019, we found a high density of leaves of Amphitecna tuxtlensis (Bignoniaceae) rolled by an undetermined leaf-rolling mite species in a tropical rainforest, in Mexico. We tested whether the species richness, abundance, and colonization frequency of arthropods was greater in rolled compared with expanded leaves. We collected 5 rolled leaves and 5 fully expanded leaves from 15 A. tuxtlensis trees (N = 150 sampled leaves) and recorded all arthropods on each leaf. We recorded 1421 arthropods from 67 unique morphospecies. We found 39 individuals from 23 morphospecies of arthropods in expanded leaves, and 1382 individuals from 56 morphospecies in rolled leaves. Ants were the most abundant and frequent group and utilized the rolled leaves mainly as nesting sites; 1260 ant individuals were found in 30 nests from three species. Arthropod species richness, abundance, and colonization frequency were greater in rolled leaves compared with expanded leaves. We concluded that the ecosystem engineering effect of leaf-rolling mites may be an important structuring element for arthropod communities on plants through an increase of high quality food resources and shelter sites for other arthropods, as well as nesting sites for ants. Keywords Microhabitat . Arthropod diversity . Amphitecna tuxtlensis . Ant nesting sites . Shelter sites
Introduction Communicated by: Matthias Waltert Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-020-01702-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Vicente Hernández-Ortiz [email protected] 1
Laboratório de Ecologia Evolutiva e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 30270-971, Brazil
2
Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190 Morelia, MICH, México
3
Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190 Morelia, MICH, México
4
Instituto de Ecología A.C., Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91070 Xalapa, VER, México
Many arthropods modify plant parts during their life cycle through the con
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