The Mesostigmatid mite (Acari, Mesostigmata) community in canopies of Sitka spruce in Ireland and a comparison with ground moss habitats

Abstract

J. Arroyo, M. L. Moraza & T. Bolger. 2010. The Mesostigmatid mite (Acari, Mesostigmata) community in canopies of Sitka spruce in Ireland and a comparison with ground moss habitats. Graellsia, 66(1): 29-37. The main aim of this study was to examine the communities of mesostigmatid mites occurring in Irish Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) canopies or inhabiting moss, either in the canopy or on the soil surface, and to discover whether a characteristic assemblage of species occurs in particular habitat patches (ground vs. aerial). Twenty two species of Mesostigmata were recorded, of which five occurred exclusively in arboreal microhabitats. All three species of Zerconidae collected were unique to the canopy and moss mats on the tree branches. Trachytes aegrota (C.L. Koch, 1841) was recorded for the first time in Ireland and some comments about its distribution are made. Multivariate analysis indicated that the arboreal mesostigmatid community is not just a subset of the assemblage occurring in moss on soil or trunks and that it appears to be more homogeneous than those occurring on the soil surface.