Nematode predation by oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida)

Longer-Term Effects of Selective Thinning on Microarthropod Communities in a Late-Successional Coniferous Forest

“…Although great strides have been made determining and classifying the diets of many microarthropods (Luxton 1972, Behan-Pelletier and Hill 1983, Wallwork 1983, Walter 1987, Kaneko 1988), current levels of knowledge limit our ability to accurately place many forest microarthropod taxa, particularly mites, into speciÞc functional groups (Dindal 1990, Moldenke andThies 1996). Primary challenges include understanding the extent of omnivory (Walter et al 1986, Walter 1987, understanding how seasonal changes in resource availability affect diet (Anderson 1975, Rockett 1980, BehanPelletier and Hill 1983, Walter and Ikonen 1989 and determining how diets change as species mature (Walter 1987). Largely due to these limitations, we did not analyze our results at the functional level.…”

Consumption rate of phytonematodes by Pergalumna sp. (Acari: Oribatida: Galumnidae) under laboratory conditions determined by a new method

“…Pergalumna species (Oribatida: Galumnidae) usually live in the soil and have often been reported as nematode-feeders (Muraoka and Ishibashi 1976;Rockett 1980). A variety of methods have been used in the study of the feeding biology of oribatid mites, including direct examination of the gut contents, food preferences in the laboratory and/or Weld, study of enzyme complement (Behan-Pelletier and Hill 1983) and, most recently, stable isotope analysis (Schneider et al 2004b).…”

Microcosms and soil Ecology: Critical Linkages between Fields Studies and Modelling Food Webs

“…5). Weakly preferred prey should not be ignored offhand since they may provide nutrients that are critical to the predators' development (Rockett 1980). Many trophic links within food webs are weak in terms of the amount of material that is transferred and in terms of the impact that they may have on either predator or prey popu-Parameters are: a, = assimilation efficiency of species i (assimilated C: consumed C), p, = production efficiency of species i (secondary production of C/assimilated C), d, = non-predatory death rate of species i (per year), and c,j = rate constant of consumption for species ito j (from Moore et al 1993: Table 1).…”