Neglected Predators: Water Mites (Acari:Parasitengona:Hydrachnellae) in Freshwater Communities

Proctor, H. C.; Pritchard, Gordon

doi:10.2307/1467406

Cited by 76 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Unionicola crassipes females were found in February and August in basin IV at 7 m and in basin I at 5 m respectively ; densities varied between 8 to 25 ind/m 2 . This species is normally found more frequently in pelagic samples, due to its long extremities and its swimming ability, which allows it to prey on planktonic copepoda and cladocera populations ; but adults can also prey on benthonic ephemeroptera and chironomid larvae (Proctor & Pritchard 1989).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Table 3, a good relationship between water mites and their potential hosts and preys is shown. The three main species present in the mud substrates in lake Banyoles, (N. deltoides, U. crassipes and A. sinuator) eat Copepoda, Cladocera, Nematoda, Ephemeroptera and, specially the former one, Chironomidae (Mitchell 1964, Proctor & Pritchard 1989. Also, Chironomids are one of the main host of this water mite species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution, density and specific composition of water mites (Acari) in the sublittoral of Lake Banyoles (Spain)

Rieradevall

Gil

1993

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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The seasonal and bathymétrie occurrence of water mites in the sublittoral and profundal zones of lake Banyoles were studied in [1986][1987]. Four species were found in the mud substrate : Neumania deltoides (Piersig, 1894), Neumania imitata Koenike, 1908, Unionicola crassipes (Muller, 1776 and Arrenurus sinuator (Miiller, 1776). The maximum depth that water mites reached was 12 m, but they were more frequent and abundant at 5 m depth, mainly in the March-May period (41 individuals per m 2 ). This group represents only 0.08-0.39 % of the total macrobenthic fauna in the sublittoral of lake Banyoles. N. deltoides is the most abundant and widely distributed species. For N. imitata this is the first record in the Iberian peninsula. (Millier, 1776).Les Hydracariens atteignent une profondeur maximum de 12 m, mais sont le plus abondants à -5 m, surtout entre mars et mai (41 ind/m 2 ). Ils ne représentent cependant que 0,08-0,39 % de la faune macrobenthique totale de la zone sublittorale du lac. N deltoides est l'espèce la plus abondante et la plus répandue. Il s'agit de la première citation de N. imitata pour la péninsule ibérique.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution, density and specific composition of water mites (Acari) in the sublittoral of Lake Banyoles (Spain)

Rieradevall

Gil

1993

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.

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“…The four taxa designated to this group (Gomphidae, Macromiidae, Hydracarina, and Leptoceridae) are relatively mobile species; however, there is no experimental evidence in the literature to suggest that a change of , 10 cm in mean water level would preferentially benefit the survival of these taxa. One possibility is that mid water levels concentrate detrital matter in rocky littoral habitats, augmenting the proportionally dominant Chironomidae taxon (Table 3) and resulting in increased forage efficiency, and thus survival, of predators such as Hydracarina (Proctor and Pritchard 1989) and Odonata (Merritt et al 2008). However, at extremely low water levels it is possible that disturbance is great enough that detrital matter is severely agitated so that no taxon exhibits a preference strong enough to be statistically designated to the low waterlevel group (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the role of natural water level fluctuation in structuring littoral benthic macroinvertebrate community composition in lakes

White

Xenopoulos

Metcalfe

et al. 2010

Limnology & Oceanography

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We used traditional hydrologic endpoints and extracted novel water-level fluctuation (WLF) characteristics through principal components analysis (PCA), to determine the relationship between WLF and rocky littoral benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) richness in 16 boreal lakes. Yearly WLF amplitude (maximum minus minimum water levels) ranged from 35.9 cm to 157.5 cm. Using PCA we derived a new variable D80-D210 (31 March minus 01 August) as a surrogate for change in mean water level and potential habitat squeeze (loss). Analyses of BMI richness with several physicochemical variables, including water quality (8), habitat variability (4), lake and basin morphology (6), land classification (28), water temperature (8), hydrology (9), and PCA axes (10) resulted in only three significant relationships. We found a classic species-area relationship, as BMI richness increases with increasing lake area (r 2 5 0.38 linear , r 2 5 0.69 unimodal ). Similarly, as littoral slope increases macroinvertebrate richness decreases (r 2 5 0.32 linear ). Most importantly, lower water levels, quantified using D80-D210, have higher macroinvertebrate richness (r 2 5 0.38 linear ). Together these results suggest that a habitat squeeze in littoral areas is the direct result of lower mean water levels and that relatively small changes in natural WLF can be associated with changes in BMI communities.

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“…Generally, their main predators are fish, waterfowl, amphibians, insect larvae (notably dragonfly and damselfly), backswimmers, and water mites (Lowndes, 1930;Proctor, 1964;Lilly et al, 1978;Vinyard, 1979;Allen and Wootton, 1984;Proctor and Pritchard, 1989;Griffiths et al, 1993;Uiblein et al, 1994;Lopez et al, 2002;Blanco et al, 2004;Ghioca-Robrecht and Smith, 2008;Brochet et al, 2010;Vandekerhove et al, 2012), all common in rice field ecosystems. The hard, calcified carapace of ostracods can reduce predation considerably in some cases.…”

Section: Predatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of rice field ostracods (Crustacea) with a checklist of species

et al. 2017

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Ostracods are very common in rice fields and they can have a significant influence on the rice field ecosystem. They can reach very high densities, often higher than other meiofauna, and their activities can have both positive and negative effects on rice harvests. They directly affect nutrient recycling through excretion, and indirectly by physically disturbing the soil and releasing minerals, thus improving rice growth. On the other hand, ostracods grazing on nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria potentially reduce rice yields. Rice is a primary staple food for over half of the world's population, and therefore ostracods can have a significant impact on human food supply. The origin of the rice field ostracod fauna is poorly known, but many rice field ostracods are considered invasive, especially in southern Europe, and from rice fields they have the potential to spread to surrounding natural habitats. Despite their invasive potential and ecological effects on the rice field ecosystem, very little is known about the diversity, ecology and impacts of rice field ostracods in many rice-producing countries. One hundred and ninety-two named ostracod species/subspecies have been reported from rice fields in 26 countries and states worldwide in the published literature; for over three-quarters of riceproducing countries, no data are readily available, and for most of the countries that have available data, diversity is clearly underreported. Most species that have been documented from rice fields belong to the Cyprididae (78%), a family that makes up approximately 43% of the 2500+ non-marine ostracod species. A further six families (Candonidae, Darwinulidae, Entocytheridae, Ilyocyprididae, Limnocytheridae and Notodromadidae) form the remainder of rice field ostracods. Twenty-two percent of the species reported from rice fields are sexually reproducing, 18% have mixed reproduction, but are mostly asexual, and for 60% males are unknown, and are probably entirely asexually reproducing species. This review and checklist of rice field ostracods are presented to facilitate further research on this group in rice field habitats, research that is crucial for food security in many regions

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Neglected Predators: Water Mites (Acari:Parasitengona:Hydrachnellae) in Freshwater Communities

Cited by 76 publications

References 21 publications

Distribution, density and specific composition of water mites (Acari) in the sublittoral of Lake Banyoles (Spain)

Distribution, density and specific composition of water mites (Acari) in the sublittoral of Lake Banyoles (Spain)

On the role of natural water level fluctuation in structuring littoral benthic macroinvertebrate community composition in lakes

A review of rice field ostracods (Crustacea) with a checklist of species

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