Little effect of forest age on oribatid mites on the bark of trees |
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Authors: | Georgia Erdmann Andreas Floren KEduard Linsenmair Stefan Scheu Mark Maraun |
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Institution: | aStaatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz, PSF 300154, 02806 Görlitz, Germany;bUniversität Würzburg, Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany;cTechnische Universität Darmstadt, Institut für Zoologie, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany |
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Abstract: | This study investigates the effect of forest age (20-, 50-, 160-year-old, and primeval forest) on oribatid mite communities on the bark of oak trees in the National Park Pusza Białowieża in eastern Poland. We hypothesized that oribatid mite diversity on bark peaks at forests of intermediate age and that the number of parthenogenetic species of oribatid mites is highest in young stands. In contrast to these hypotheses, the diversity, density, number of juveniles, community structure and the mode of reproduction of oribatid mite species were not significantly affected by forest age. None of the oribatid mite species occurred exclusively on trees of a specific age. The results suggest that oribatid mite communities on the bark of trees are minimally affected by tree harvesting regimes. In contrast to oribatid mites in soil, communities on bark appear to be less sensitive to disturbances. |
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Keywords: | Acari Intermediate disturbance hypothesis National Park Pusza Biał owież a Parthenogenesis Succession |
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