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Diverse Sphagnum Mosses Support Rich Moss Mite Communities (Acari, Oribatida) in Mires of Western Norway

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Abstract

A study of oribatid mites was carried out in six mires located in western, oceanic parts of Norway. Twenty Sphagnum species of five subgenera were collected from microhabitats representing trophic state and wetness gradients. In total, over 60,000 mites were extracted, including 58,000 Oribatida, representing 95 species (i.e. 30% of total species diversity of Oribatida in Norway). This is the highest number ever reported from mires, including 18 species new to Norway. The average density of the Oribatida was 54,126 ind./m2, but it differed among Sphagnum subgenera, being four times lower in the subgenus Rigida than in the other subgenera. Juveniles contributed nearly 40% of oribatids, in some species highly dominating in the age structure (up to 80% in Nothrus spp.), and two oribatid species were represented only by juveniles, so their inclusion is important in ecological studies. In some species the proportion of juveniles varied between the studied microhabitats. Localities, Sphagnum subgenera, and wetness gradient affected significantly the oribatid communities, so these factors should be taken into consideration in studies of the Oribatida in mires.

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Acknowledgements

The study was funded by grant no. 811030 from the Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative – KR 35-16 ‘Norwegian Forest Oribatida (NFO) – highly diverse, but poorly known’. Part of the study was carried out within the program of the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education ‘Regional Initiative of Excellence’ in 2019-2022 (grant no. 008/RID/2018/19). We are very grateful to Sylwia Ufnalska MSc, MA for linguistic corrections and valuable suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural History, University Museum of Bergen, University of Bergen, Postboks 7800, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    Anna Seniczak & Torstein Solhøy

  2. Department of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University, Ossolińskich 12, 85-092, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Stanisław Seniczak

  3. Department of Zoology and Cellular Animal Biology, University of the Basque Country, Barrio Sarriena S/N, E-48940, Leioa, Bizkaia, Spain

    J. Carlos Iturrondobeitia

  4. NTNU University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Kjell Ivar Flatberg

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  1. Anna Seniczak
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Contributions

TS, AS and KIF planned the study and carried out the field work. AS and SS identified the Oribatida, KIF identified mosses and other plants, JCI performed statistical analyses, and all authors contributed to writing the paper.

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Correspondence to Anna Seniczak.

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Torstein Solhøy was died before this publication.

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Seniczak, A., Seniczak, S., Iturrondobeitia, J.C. et al. Diverse Sphagnum Mosses Support Rich Moss Mite Communities (Acari, Oribatida) in Mires of Western Norway. Wetlands 40, 1339–1351 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-019-01236-w

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