Ecologic study of soil oribatid mite, Scheloribates rectus (Acari) in high altitude Botanical Garden of Darjeeling Himalayas, India

Abstract

The results of some aspects of the ecology of Scheloribates rectus Hammer, 1958 in the soils of a high altitude Botanical Garden in Darjeeling Himalayas, India are presented. Soil samples were collected from two plots ('X' and 'Y') at monthly intervals for a period of three successive years (January 1999 to December 2001). Attempts have been made to determine the extent to which habitat complexity and local microclimatic variables influenced the population size of this mite. The total population of S. rectus exhibited an irregular trend of fluctuation during the period of investigation with a maximum in winter and minimum in monsoon months. There was a considerable post monsoon / winter increase in population size. Among the four edaphic variables (temperature, moisture, pH and organic matter), only the organic matter content exhibited a positive and significant correlation with the mite population, while the temperature, moisture and pH showed a significant but negative correlation. It was appealing to note that the studied plots being close to each other were more or less similar in edaphic and climatic conditions with a little variation in altitude and vegetation cover. However, the number of mite specimens varied from one plot to another. The reasons of seasonal abundance and numerical variation in the plots are discussed.

Ecological drivers of helminth infection patterns in the Virunga Massif mountain gorilla population

“…Although intermediate oribatid hosts are known for 27 species of anoplocephalid tapeworms ( Denegri, 1993 ), the exact mite species for anoplocephalid tapeworm transmission in mountain gorillas has not been identified. Various extrinsic factors, including elevation, temperature, humidity, soil characteristics and plant material entering the soil as litter (in the form of leaves, stems, and roots from vegetation cover), affect oribatid diversity and abundance ( Marian et al, 2018 ; Villagomez et al, 2019 ; Ghosh, 2020 ; Sánchez-Galindo et al, 2021 ). Thus, we can assume that the intermediate oribatid host may be more abundant in particular elevations and vegetation types, which can lead to higher intensities of tapeworm infections in gorillas ranging especially in habitats with higher proportion of bamboo.…”