Diverse Sphagnum Mosses Support Rich Moss Mite Communities (Acari, Oribatida) in Mires of Western Norway
- PDF / 1,028,372 Bytes
- 13 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 89 Downloads / 212 Views
PEATLANDS
Diverse Sphagnum Mosses Support Rich Moss Mite Communities (Acari, Oribatida) in Mires of Western Norway Anna Seniczak 1
&
Stanisław Seniczak 2 & J. Carlos Iturrondobeitia 3 & Torstein Solhøy 1 & Kjell Ivar Flatberg 4
Received: 6 June 2019 / Accepted: 4 October 2019 # Society of Wetland Scientists 2019
Abstract A study of oribatid mites was carried out in six mires located in western, oceanic parts of Norway. Twenty Sphagnum species of five subgenera were collected from microhabitats representing trophic state and wetness gradients. In total, over 60,000 mites were extracted, including 58,000 Oribatida, representing 95 species (i.e. 30% of total species diversity of Oribatida in Norway). This is the highest number ever reported from mires, including 18 species new to Norway. The average density of the Oribatida was 54,126 ind./m2, but it differed among Sphagnum subgenera, being four times lower in the subgenus Rigida than in the other subgenera. Juveniles contributed nearly 40% of oribatids, in some species highly dominating in the age structure (up to 80% in Nothrus spp.), and two oribatid species were represented only by juveniles, so their inclusion is important in ecological studies. In some species the proportion of juveniles varied between the studied microhabitats. Localities, Sphagnum subgenera, and wetness gradient affected significantly the oribatid communities, so these factors should be taken into consideration in studies of the Oribatida in mires. Keywords Mites . Ecology . Species records . Age structure . Species composition
Introduction Mires are wetlands that develop in places waterlogged throughout the growing season, where plant growth exceeds decomposition and peat accumulation takes place (Rydin and Jeglum 2006). Some ecologists use the term ‘peatland’ interchangeably with ‘mire’, but the meaning of these two words is slightly different; e.g. drained areas that lost their peat-
Torstein Solhøy was died before this publication. * Anna Seniczak [email protected] 1
Department of Natural History, University Museum of Bergen, University of Bergen, Postboks 7800, 5020 Bergen, Norway
2
Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Ossolińskich 12, 85-092 Bydgoszcz, Poland
3
Department of Zoology and Cellular Animal Biology, University of the Basque Country, Barrio Sarriena S/N, E-48940 Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain
4
NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
accumulating properties are still peatlands but cannot be called mires anymore (Rydin et al. 1999). Fennoscandian mires are dominated by Sphagnum mosses that play many important roles, being like ‘chief-engineers’ in these ecosystems (Clymo 1998), simultaneously creating and inhabiting mire microhabitats (Johnson et al. 2014). Like huge sponges they accumulate water between shoot parts and in dead hyaline cells of their leaves, and help to maintain a high water table, while the mass of dead mosses creates the anaerobic condition
Data Loading...
