Zoomorphology

, Volume 133, Issue 4, pp 359–378 | Cite as

Plastron respiration in marine intertidal oribatid mites (Acari, Fortuyniidae and Selenoribatidae)

Original Paper
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Abstract

Plastron respiration was investigated in the fortuyniid Alismobates inexpectatus, Fortuynia atlantica and the selenoribatid Carinozetes bermudensis. All these taxa inhabit intertidal zones of subtropical and tropical coasts and are exposed to tidal flooding. The utilization of plastron mechanisms enables these species to respire under water. Cerotegumental structures consisting of micropapillae and pillars bearing an outer sheet provide extensive areas where air is retained supplying the tracheal system with oxygen. A. inexpectatus and F. atlantica possess a dorsal and ventral plastron connected laterally by cuticular channels of the van der Hammen’s organ, whereas the specific configuration of these channels varies between the genera. The plastron of Carinozetes species spans the whole body except for all movable parts as legs and genital and anal valves. Plastron structures in juveniles of the families Fortuyniidae and Selenoribatidae were investigated for the first time in detail. Air-retaining cerotegument is also present in immatures of these taxa but is concentrated along lateral and ventral folds where series of pores lead into supposed tracheal organs. In juveniles of A. inexpectatus and F. atlantica, these organs are tubes with a length of approximately 3–15 μm, and in Carinozetes immatures, these organs are short saccules (0.5–1 μm).

Keywords

Physical gill Microstructure Alismobates Fortuynia Carinozetes Oribatida 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) Inc. and its staff for their manifold support. T. P. also wants to thank Wolfgang Sterrer for being a great mentor. T. P. is grateful to Reinhart Schuster for inspiring his research on intertidal mites. We give thanks to Roy Norton for references and to the Centre for Electron Microscopy Graz (FELMI) for realizing the electron micrographs. The research was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): [J3150].

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Institute of ZoologyUniversity of GrazGrazAustria

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