Selected Problems of Acarological Research in Forests

SELECTED PROBLEMS OF ACAROLOGICAL RESEARCH IN FORESTS Edited by Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Poznaniu Przewodniczący Komitetu Redakcyjnego prof. dr hab. Waldemar Uchman Redaktor Działu prof. dr hab. Konrad Magnuski Rada Naukowa dr hab. Roman Jaszczak – Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy Poznań, prof. dr hab. Lesław Łabudzki – Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy Poznań, prof. dr hab. Konrad Magnuski – Uniwer- sytet Przyrodniczy Poznań, prof. dr hab. Krystyna Przybylska – Uniwersytet Rolniczy Kraków, prof. dr hab. Henryk Żybura – SGGW Warszawa c Copyright by Polskie Towarzystwo Leśne, Oddział Wielkopolski Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Poznaniu Poznań2008, Poland Utwór w całości ani we fragmentach nie może być powielany ani rozpowszechniany za pomocą urządzeńelektronicznych, kopiujących, nagrywających i innych bez pisemnej zgody posiadacza praw autorskich. ISBN 978-83-7160-505-5 Opracowanie redakcyjne Anna Zielińska-Krybus Projekt okładki Exemplum Opracowanie komputerowe Donata Latusek Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Poznaniu ul. Witosa 45, 60-693 Poznań tel./faks (061) 848 78 08, e-mail: [email protected] www.au.poznan.pl/wydawnictwo Wydanie I. Nakład 150 egz. Ark. wyd. 13,1. Ark. druk. 7,7. Druk w Zakładzie Graficznym Uniwersytetu Przyrodniczego w Poznaniu, ul. Wojska Polskiego 69, 60-625 Poznań CONTENTS Preface ................................................... ................. 5 Grażyna Madej Ecological succession of mites (Acari) with particular reference to the predatory mites Gamasina (Mesostigmata) ........................... 7 Piotr Skubała Dead wood as the richest habitat in a healthy forest and mite (Acari) fauna living in it 23 Anna Seniczak, Stanisław Seniczak Oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) as bioindicators of forest habitats ........ 41 Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz Mesostigmatid mites (Acari) associated with Scolytidae in Poland .......... 59 Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz Mesostigmatid mites (Acari) associated in nests of Formicidae in Poland .... 97 Ryszard Haitlinger Mites associated with insects in Poland ................................... 113 PREFACE The Polish Forestry Society (PTL) has put forward an initiative to foster various branches of science and the research conducted in forest areas. Acarological research is the focus of the present issue. The history of acarological research dates back to the 20s of the previous cen- tury. Many years have passed since then and acarology has developed many fields including taxonomy, biology, ecology, faunistics and zoogeography and also practi- cal aspects such as restraining harmful mites or using them in biological struggle. The current issue also focuses on the succession of mites into forest areas and the role of rotting wood in maintaining the diversity of the acarofauna. The pos- sibility of using mites as bioindicators also plays an important role, especially in forest areas exposed to the heavy impact of industrial plants, which was empha- sized in one of the chapters. An attempt has been made in the present study to summarize some of the research topics that have prevailed in Polish acarology in recent years. The main focus is on mites found on insects and those accompanying ants and bark beetles. I would like to extend thanks to all those kind people who contributed to the preparation of this study. Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION OF MITES (ACARI) WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE PREDATORY MITES GAMASINA (MESOSTIGMATA) Grażyna Madej University of Silesia, Department of Ecology ul. Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice, Poland; e-mail: [email protected] Introduction Ecological succession is one of the most important processes that take place in ecosystems. It has been fascinating ecologists for many years. It applies both to the plant world and to animals. The succession theory was first formulated for plants by Clements (1916) (Connell and Slatyer 1977). Since its formulation, it has been supplemented with numerous new concepts and amendments, mostly concerned with plant succession (Rajski 1965, Falińska 2004). So far, however, scientists have failed to present a commonly accepted succession theory that could satisfy both botanists and zoologists. Changes in vegetation during succession are relatively well studied. It is as- sumed that plants are of greater importance in succession, although animals also contribute to this process (Majer 1989 b). In earlier studies, animals were treated only as passive elements of this process, and did not have any influence on creation of the succession theory (Connell and Slatyer 1977). They are more difficult sub- jects for description of this process. The difficulty results from the mobility and dispersal of animals, as well as from methodological problems with recording all individuals and species. Moreover, the pattern of interspecific interactions among animals is different from those among animals. As a result of these limitations, little is known about the process of ecological succession in animal communities, and its theoretical assumptions in faunistic studies are based chiefly on Odum’s concept (Trojan et al. 1994). His classic theory assumes that species diversity at all trophic levels increases with the progress of succession. Holistic approach to this process presumes that during ecosystem development, plant communities are 8 gradually transformed and finally become stable climax communities, which is determined by changes in the abiotic environment (Odum 1969). Recently it has been suggested that animals can actively affect succession through transportation of propagules, herbivory, or decomposition of organic matter (Kaufmann 2001). Transformation of arable soils into soils of the more advanced successional stages, such as meadow or forest, includes changes in the composition of not only vegetation, but also of microbial communities and soil fauna (Gormsen et al. 2006). Soil properties change in the course of succession. This is associated with the development of vegetation and the activity of soil organisms (De Deyn et al. 2003), which play an important role in this process (Rusek 1978). In the soil and on its surface, many important soil processes take place, such as: decomposition of organic matter, as well as transformation, storage and transportation of the substances released in the course of decomposition. Many groups of animals inhabit the soil ecosystem. As one of the components of this system, they enter into numerous, complex interactions (that affect one another) with its abiotic and other biotic components (Fitter et al. 1985). Succession of all those components takes place simultaneously and is an ecosystem process (Koehler 1997). Soil inver- tebrates may be an important driving force causing transformations of vegetation (De Deyn et al. 2003, Kardol et al. 2006). De Deyn et al. (2003) believe that soil fauna supports secondary succession and affects the composition of the natural vegetation of meadows. The influence of soil organisms can depend both on the progress of ecosystem succession and on the stage of plant succession (Kardol et al. 2006). Important differences between plants and soil animals in the process of succession were reported by Parr (1978), Scheu and Schulz (1996), and Dunger (1998). The indirect influence of plants on soil organisms in the course of succession was described by some researchers (e.g. Koehler 1997). This applies mostly to the succession of saprotrophs, which greatly contribute to the process of soil formation. These include oribatid mites (Anderson 1975). In the soil fauna, mites (Acari) are one of the largest and most diverse groups of microarthropods. They live in both natural and anthropogenic habitats. The most abundant soil mites are Oribatida and Mesostigmata (the predatory Gamasina and the saprophagous or mycophagous Uropodina). The density of oribatids at the forest floor in the temperate zone ranges from 20 000 to 400 000 individuals/m2, and species number is 60-120 per site (Schneider and Maraun 2005). The predatory Gamasina are important regulators of the soil meso- and microfauna (Ruf and Beck 2005). The mean density of those mites is about 4000 to 10 000 individuals/m2, and species number is about 60 per site (Ruf and Beck 2005). Gamasids form a large part of mite communities in the soil. Mite communities react to changes in biotic and abiotic factors and vary in time. These can be short-term cyclic variations in abundance and species diversity that do not lead to formation of new structures. They are dependent on season, phenological period, life history of species, and many environmental factors. Pop- ulation dynamics of mesostigmatid mites was studied in the temperate zone in various ecosystems, such as beech forest on a calcium-rich soil (Schulz 1989). 9 More long-term, directional changes in mite communities, leading to the formation of new structures, characterize the ecological succession of mites. The process of ecological succession, is defined as a nonseasonal, directional and continuous model of colonization and decline of populations of various species. This definition includes the concept of a sequence of successional stages, which occur on a varying time scale as a result of various mechanisms (Begon et al. 1990). Mesostigmatid mite communities are characteristic of individual successional stages (Madej 2004). Knowledge about those mites is also useful for characteriza- tion of developmental stages of the soil system. The simplest definition of succession is: changes in communities, where in

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