Soil Mite Community Diversity

Lebrun, P.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-592201-2.50085-3

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The effect of forest removal and cultivation on macrocoleoptera leads to a clear gradient of diversity from undisturbed to most disturbed areas (Table 4). Lebrun (1979) has produced a useful review of the ecological effects of agricultural practices on soil fauna. Natural disturbances, like the annual inundation of tropical forest soils by river flooding also creates low diversity communities (Irmler, 1979).…”

Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

The diversity of soil communities, the ?poor man's tropical rainforest?

1996

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This paper reviews the various factors that facilitate the high biodiversity of soil communities, concentrating on soil animals. It considers the problems facing soil ecologists in the study of soil communities and identifies the important role such communities play in terrestrial ecosystems. The review also considers diversity and abundance patterns. A range of factors are identified that may contribute to the biodiversity of soil and their role is reviewed. These include diversity of food resources and trophic specialization, habitat favourableness, habitat heterogeneity in space and time, scale and spatial extent of the habitat, niche dynamics and resource partitioning, productivity, disturbance and aggregation.Biodiversity of soil organisms appears high, largely attributable to the nested set of ecological worlds in the soil -the relationship between the range of size groupings of soil organisms relative to the spatial heterogeneity perceived by these various groups -that provide a large 'area for life' for the micro-and mesofauna. The role of aggregation and how it relates to the spatial scale under consideration and to species interactions amongst soil animals is largely unknown at present. The role of disturbance is equivocal and man's activities more often than not seem to lead to a reduced biodiversity of soil communities. This paper also identifies areas where further work is desirable to improve our understanding of the structure and functioning of soil communities.

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Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

The diversity of soil communities, the ?poor man's tropical rainforest?

1996

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“…Nevertheless, Luxton ( 1972) feels that while laboratory studies are necessarily somewhat artificial, they have provided useful information. Lebrun (1979), on the other hand, doubts whether laboratory studies on diet choice give much reliable information as to nutritional specificity, (a view with which Mitchell & Parkinson (1976) agree) and he feels that the best indicators are analyses of gut contents and observations in the field. The trouble is, as Woodring (1963) notes, that a given species in likely to feed on different foods in different habitats and areas, so that one cannot always assume, with certain notable exceptions, that the food in the gut is the only kind of food on which the species feeds or that the species will be found only where that particular food exists.…”

Section: Culture-feeding Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The importance of investigating the association of oribatid mites with both micro-and macroflora lies in the fact that these mites play an important role in soil energetics and soil fertility (Kates & Runkel, 1948;Waksman, 1952;Ghilarov, 1963Ghilarov, , 1965Berthet, 1964;Witkamp & Crossley, 1966;Tarman, 1974;Krivolutzky, 1976;Crossley, 1977;Reichle, 1977;Lebrun, 1979). The Oribatei contribute to humus formation not only by the direct consumption and break up of fallen plant material and of fungal-decayed litter, but also by eating and distributing fungi and their spores (Forsslund, 1939;Witkamp, 1960;Kevan, 1962;Woodring & Cook, 1962;Macfadyen, 1964Macfadyen, , 1968Luxton, 1966a;Wallwork, 1972a;Mitchell & Parkinson, 1976;.…”

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confidence: 99%

The association of oribatid mites with lichens

Seyd

Seaward

1984

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Oribatei (Acari, Cryptostigmata) are found in a variety of terrestrial habitats, and many are associated with lichens; the relationship ranges from casual to highly dependent. Eighty‐three species associated with lichens have been surveyed, and a tentative classification, based on their ecological requirements, is presented: Group A consists of species restricted to lichens as a biotope, though occasionally occurring as accidentals in other habitats; Group B consists of species which while preferring lichens as a habitat and feeding source are also adapted to existence on other plants (though in some cases their immatures may be lichen‐restricted); Group C consists of species which, though frequently found on lichens, are equally common in other biotopes, particularly mosses, and must be regarded as much more generalized in their feeding habits. Certain aspects of oribatid‐lichen specificity are discussed. The importance of oribatid‐lichen associations from the point of view of soil fertility and energetics is emphasized.

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“…This hypothesis seems to be confirmed, first by the fact that we know that niche divergence among species mainly arises from behavioral differences between adults that must permanently explore their environment to discover feeding sites (Lebrun, 1979) and second by recent data on feeding habits of oribatids in their environment (Rockett, 1980;Behan-Pelletier & Hill, 1983); but, of course, as in the case of morphological traits (Grandjean, 1949), there are apparently some exceptions (Seniczak & Stefaniak, 1978). Anyhow, we lack knowledge of the substances which actually are absorbed through the digestive tract (basically, these substances are the "variable" substrates of enzymes as discussed above), and we do not know how micro-organisms inhabiting the digestive tract interfere to elaborate these substances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Observations on the enzymatic content of Platynothrus peltifer (C.L. Koch, 1839) (Acari, Oribatida) and discussion on a new concept of evolution

Ziegler

Wauthy²

1987

International Journal of Acarology

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The paper deals with an electrophoretic study of super-oxide-dismutase and esterase isozymes in tritonymph and adult Platynothntspeltifer (C.L. Koch, 1839). In each instar, both proteins exhibit distinct patterns and show the presence of genes "turned on" or "turned off' by regulatory genes. Our observations lead us to discuss a new concept referring to the enzyme-sense organ numerical coevolution in oribatid mites from ecological and evolutionary standpoints. Finally, in order to confirm this concept, we propose to use electrophoretic patterns to place species into ontophylogenetic evolutionary diagrams just as Grandjean (1954) did in the case of sense organs.

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Soil Mite Community Diversity

Cited by 20 publications

References 14 publications

The diversity of soil communities, the ?poor man's tropical rainforest?

The diversity of soil communities, the ?poor man's tropical rainforest?

The association of oribatid mites with lichens

Observations on the enzymatic content of Platynothrus peltifer (C.L. Koch, 1839) (Acari, Oribatida) and discussion on a new concept of evolution

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