A taxonomic inventory of oribatid mites from lenga forests in Patagonia Argentina was carried out to assess the taxonomic diversity and to increase the knowledge of their distribution. Nine new records of soil oribatid mites from Argentina are reported. Those species were collected in Chubut province and Tierra del Fuego province. The new registered species belong to the genera Lamellozetes, Hermannia (Phyllhermannia), Crotonia, Kokoppia, Acutoppia, Lanceoppia (Baioppia), Loboppia, Membranoppia(Membranoppia) and Graptoppia (Stenoppia).
Knowledge of the oribatid mite community from Patagonian steppe is scarce compared with other environments, such as the Andean-Patagonian forest. In the present research we identified oribatid mites under different environmental conditions: two Patagonian steppe types (grass and shrub), two soil characteristics (bare and covered soil) and two different seasons (autumn and spring). A total of 42 species/morphospecies were found, 13 were new records for Chubut and one was a new record for Argentina. In view of its ecological role in soil formation, it is fundamental that knowledge about this fauna is enhanced in order to provide baselines for study and to aid further understanding about its ecology.
The lenga forests (Nothofagus pumilio) are the main native forest resource of the Andean Patagonian region. The aim of this research is to inform the species of oribatid mites, and new records, associated to the decomposition process of the lenga wood. Samples of soil and decayed wood were taken under a test of the decomposition process. Twenty-one genera and 26 species of oribatid mites were registered; two of them are new records for Chubut province. KEYWORDS. Lenga. New records. Soil. RESUMEN. Los bosques de lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) constituyen el principal recurso forestal nativo de la región andino-patagónica. El objetivo principal es informar las especies de ácaros oribátidos, y los nuevos registros, asociadas al proceso de descomposición de la madera de lenga. Se tomaron muestras de suelo bajo un ensayo de descomposición de madera y muestras de la madera misma. Se contabilizaron 21 géneros y 26 especies de ácaros oribátidos, dos de ellas son nuevos registros para la provincia de Chubut.
Taxonomy and Systematics
New records of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) from a Patagonian forest affected by wildfire in ArgentinaNuevos registros de ácaros oribátidos (Acari: Oribatida) de un bosque patagónico afectado por fuego en Argentina
Mesofauna represents a major component of soil biological community and play a critical role in maintaining soil quality, as well as a range of ecosystem functions. A split–split plot design was performed with the aim of identifying the main predictors (phytogeographical criteria, cover type and environmental variables) of edaphic community structure under the effect of desertification. The study also aimed to examine the spatial and seasonal distribution of mesofauna community according to phytogeographical criteria (shrubland vs grassland) and cover type (bare vs covered soil) in the north-western Patagonian steppe of Argentina. The relationship between edaphic fauna, environmental variables and site location was investigated using redundancy analysis (RDA), while the main predictors of edaphic community were analysed using generalised linear mixed models (GLMMs). A total of 43 taxa of Oribatida were found in 168 samples. GLMM approaches selected cover type due to its higher effect on mesofauna community. In this sense, cover type was more important than phytogeographical criteria and environmental variables as predictor of mesofauna community. These findings contribute to a better understanding of how the distribution of mesofauna community respond in Patagonia steppe.
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