Edaphic mesostigmatid mites (Parasitiformes, Mesostigmata) in a region of the Pampa biome of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

The diversity of edaphic mites in Brazilian natural environments is little known, especially in the Pampa biome, in southern region of Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity and abundance of edaphic fauna of mesostigmatid mites in a region of the Pampa biome of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Soil samples were collected in the municipality of Aceguá, in 2012 and 2013. Mites were extracted using Berlese-Tullgren modified funnels. In total, 1900 mesostigmatid mites were collected, representing 44 species from 23 genera and 10 families. The most abundant families were Rhodacaridae, Ologamasidae and Laelapidae, with respectively 903, 578 and 214 specimens, corresponding respectively to 47.5, 30.4 and 11.3% of the Mesostigmata collected. Laelapidae was the most diverse family, being represented by 22 species. The remaining families were each represented by 1-5 species. Gaeolaelaps (Laelapidae) was the most diverse genus, with 14 species. Rhodacaridae was represented by a single species, Binodacarus aceguaensis Duarte, Castilho, Cunha & Moraes, representing 47.5% of the mesostigmatids. Ologamasidae was represented by four species, with Neogamasellevans sp. corresponding to the second most abundant species, representing 27.5% of the mesostigmatids. Further analysis of the data, in terms of mite identification to species level and the potential use of the mites collected for applied biological control are needed.

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“…Studies conducted in other parts of Brazil have reported ologamasids as a common group in natural vegetation in the Atlantic Forest biome (Mineiro and Moraes 2001;Silva et al 2004;Junqueira 2017). Mites of this family have also been found in natural vegetation in other Brazilian biomes, as the Cerrado (Marticorena 2017;Azevedo et al 2020), Caatinga (Santos 2013;Barros 2020) and Pampa (Duarte et al 2020). Castilho et al (2015b) summarized the predatory habits of ologamasids, concluding that they feed on other mites, small insects, nematodes and Collembola.…”