Mite communities (Acari: Mesostigmata, Oribatida) in the red belt conk, Fomitopsis pinicola (Polyporales), in Polish forests

Abstract

The fruiting bodies of bracket fungi are a specific microhabitat colonized by various invertebrates of which mites (Acari) are rarely studied, and if they are, the study is usually faunistic. The aim of the research was to determine whether the diversification of mite assemblages (Mesostigmata, Oribatida) inhabiting the fruiting bodies of Fomitopsis pinicola (Sw.) P. Karst. (Polyporales) are connected with the character of the forests and/or the degree of decay (DD) of the fruiting bodies. The research was conducted at Białowieża National Park (BNP), in forests close to natural ones and in Karkonosze National Park (KNP) which was affected by a large-scale forest dieback in the 1980s. Eighty fruiting bodies (40 at each study site) of F. pinicola belonging to four DD categories were collected. In total, 4,345 individuals of 120 mite species were recorded at BNP, and 13,912 individuals of 96 species were recorded at KNP. Analyses revealed that the sample dispersion at each study site was comparable, nevertheless the samples from each study site were clearly grouped into slightly overlapping sets which allow observation of the differences between them. In the less decayed fungi (DD 1 and 2) there were fewer mite species and individual mites than in the more decayed samples (DD 3 and 4). There were also significant differences between the fauna of the fungi in each particular DD: the fauna of DD 1 differed from all others, whereas the fauna of heavily decayed fungi (DD 3 and 4) was more comparable.

Mycofabrication of Mycelium-Based Leather from Brown-Rot Fungi

“…Most Polyporales have shiny surfaces of a woody nature, owing to the pigmentation on the surface, and they are highly suitable for the development of mushroom-based biomaterials [ 10 ]. They are distributed widely in the forest ecosystem, where they decompose deadwood, recycling major nutrients in the system [ 17 ].…”

“…These natural biomaterials will be replaced with various petroleum-based products to reduce the intolerable stress placed on the planet’s environment. Recently, many studies have shown the potential of developing packaging, building, textile, and transparent edible films using fungi/mushrooms [ 17 , 19 ]. However, few studies have been conducted on MBL production and processing.…”

Ecological indication potential of oribatid mites

“…This actually maintains the species richness of the oribatids. Such fungi are less abundant in areas under forest management, which implies that they are more speciespoor compared to forests without human intervention (Gdula et al, 2021). However, both the number of individuals and the number of species are lower in disturbed areas than in places where natural vegetation is still present and there is no human disturbance.…”

Large mites on wild mushrooms in Britain

“…The mite fauna of living macrofungi may, in parts, be different from that of dead or decaying fungi (Hagvar & Steen, 2013;Gdula et al, 2021b;Gdula et al, 2022). We expect some overlap with oribatid mites from soil, especially stressed soil.…”