Diversity and Host Use of Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata, Oribatida) Phoretic on Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Scolytinae): Global Generalists, Local Specialists? (original) (raw)
Related papers
2012
Little is known about the acarofauna associated with wood-boring beetles in Canada, including long-horned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Herein, we assessed the prevalence, abundance, diversity, phenology, and attachment location of mesostigmatic mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) associated with Monochamus scutellatus (Say), and tested whether the abundance and prevalence of mites differed between male and female beetles. A total of 176 beetles were collected in two sites in eastern Ontario in 2008 and 2009 using Lindgren funnel traps baited with a-pinene and ethanol lures, and 71% of hosts had mesostigmatic mites. A total of 2486 mites were collected, representing eight species, four genera, and three families (Digamasellidae, Trematuridae, and Melicharidae). Average prevalence was variable across mite species, and the number of mites per infested beetle also varied across species. Many of the mite species collected in this study have been reported from other cerambycid species, as well as from other wood-boring beetles, such as bark beetles. There was no significant sex bias in the abundance or prevalence of mites between male and female M. scutellatus, which suggests that there is no selective advantage for mites to disperse on females. This study represents the first quantitative investigation of the mites associated with M. scutellatus in Canada.
Mites associated with bark beetles and their hyperphoretic ophiostomatoid fungi
The role that mites play in many ecosystems is often overlooked or ignored. Within bark beetle habitats, more than 100 mite species exist and they have important impacts on community dynamics, ecosystem processes, and biodiversity of bark beetle systems. Mites use bark beetles to access and disperse among beetle-infested trees and the associations may range from mutualistic to antagonistic, and from facultative to obligate. Many of these mites are mycetophagous, feeding on ophiostomatoid fungi found in beetle-infested trees and carried by bark beetles. Mycetophagous mites can affect the evolution and ecology of ophiostomatoid fungi and thus impact bark beeHe-fungal associations and beetle population dynamics. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the known associations of bark beetles and mites and discuss how these associations may impact the interaction between beetles and fungi, and the evolution and ecology of ophiostomatoid fungi.
The Role of Mites in Bark and Ambrosia Beetle-Fungal Interactions
Insect Physiology and Ecology, 2017
Insects share complex interactions with mites and fungi that range from obligate mutualisms to antagonistic relationships. These multitrophic interactions often result in changes to the host environment and population dynamics of the insect. Here, we review Scolytidae and Platypodidae beetles (bark beetles and ambrosia beetles, Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and their micro-organismal interactions with mites and fungi. Many bark beetles and ambrosia beetles are closely associated with mutualistic fungi used as a food source. These fungi are carried by the beetles in specialized pockets called "mycangia." In addition to beetle-specific fungi, secondary fungi are often vectored by mite populations phoretic on the beetles. These secondary introductions create a complex fungal micro-biome within the host tree of the associated Scolytid beetles, with a myriad of consequences to beetle success and tree mortality. In this chapter, we provide a detailed review of specific beetle-fungal and mite-fungal associations, mutualistic and antagonistic effects of these fungal relations, and ecological and evolutionary consequences of beetle-fungal-mite relationships within the host complex.
PLoS ONE, 2012
Understanding the ecology and evolutionary history of symbionts and their hosts requires accurate taxonomic knowledge, including clear species boundaries and phylogenies. Tortoise mites (Mesostigmata: Uropodoidea) are among the most diverse arthropod associates of bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), but their taxonomy and host associations are largely unstudied. We tested the hypotheses that (1) morphologically defined species are supported by molecular data, and that (2) bark beetle uropodoids with a broad host range comprise cryptic species. To do so, we assessed the species boundaries of uropodoid mites collected from 51 host species, across 11 countries and 103 sites, using morphometric data as well as partial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA (28S). Overall, morphologically defined species were confirmed by molecular datasets, with a few exceptions. Twenty-nine of the 36 uropodoid species (Trichouropoda, Nenteria and Uroobovella) collected in this study had narrow host ranges, while seven species had putative broad host ranges. In all but one species, U. orri, our data supported the existence of these host generalists, which contrasts with the typical finding that widespread generalists are actually complexes of cryptic specialists.
Open Life Sciences, 2012
Previous studies have suggested that forest management practices can influence bark beetle populations as well as those of some associatedinsects.However,theimpactonbarkbeetle-associatedmites,whichoccurinbarkbeetlegalleriesinlargenumbers,havenot yetbeenstudied.TheobjectiveofthisstudywastocomparemesostigmatidmitecommunitiesassociatedwiththeNorwaysprucepestIps typographusinmanagedandnaturalforeststandsseparatedbyspruce-freebelt.ThestudysiteswerelocatedinBiałowieżaNationalPark (NEPoland)aswellasintheIzeryMountains(SzklarskaPorębaForestDistrict-SWPoland),whichweredestroyedin1981-1987byan ecologicaldisaster.Intotal,30BorregardpipetrapscontainingthecommercialattractantIpsodorW(Chemipan,Poland)weresetupateach studysiteandcollectedinAugust2010.Intotal,7214barkbeetlesand1804miteswerecollectedwhichwereclassifiedinto16species. Weobserveddifferencesinthetotalabundanceofmitesaswellasthetotalnumberofrecordedmitespecies.Thecommunitieswerequite similar,andweregenerallydominatedbypopulationsofTrichouropoda polytricha, Dendrolaelaps quadrisetus and Uroobovella ipidis. TheShannonandEvennessindexesaswellasthemeannumberofmitespersamplewerenotsignificantlydifferentbetweenforests. ©VersitaSp.zo.o.
Experimental and Applied Acarology, 2019
The phoretic mite communities of prominent bark beetle pests associated with pine stands of southern Portugal were sampled to determine whether they vary across bark beetle species and stand type. Bark beetles were sampled for mites from two primary (aggressive) bark beetle species (Ips sexdentatus and Orthotomicus erosus) and the most common secondary species (Hylurgus ligniperda) in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) and stone pine (Pinus pinea) in the Setúbal province of Portugal. Twelve mite species, spanning diverse ecological roles, are found associated with these bark beetle systems. The relative abundances of the 12 species that make up the phoretic mite communities of maritime and stone pine varied significantly between host beetle species as well as between stand type, indicating that the phoretic host and dominant tree type are important drivers of mite community composition. The functional roles of these mites are outlined and their ecological significance in pine forest ecosystems is discussed.
TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Mesostigmatid mites are one of the natural elements of soil fauna, but they are also found in decomposing wood. Many studies have focused on mites in decayed logs; however, information about the mite communities in decayed stumps and additionally in the adjacent litter is scarce. The primary objective of this study was to analyze how the mite fauna differs between Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and sessile oak [Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.] stumps, as well as to discover how much the stumps affect the soil mite community in temperate forests. This study was conducted in two managed forests (pine versus oak) in five microhabitats [clear-cut stumps, ecotone, and litter at three distances (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m)]. The forests were 98 years old, growing in brownish, rusty soil and were located in the Murowana Goślina Forest Experimental Station (Poznań, Central Poland). Our study revealed that the mean number of species, mean abundance, and evenness differed between the pine and oak forests. Additionally, the study indicated that Scots pine and sessile oak clear-cut stumps as well as the adjacent litter (up to 1.5 m away) were inhabited by the same abundant mite species. Moreover, unique species such as Oplitis minutissima and Pergamasus mediocris were restricted in distribution to ecotone in the Scots pine forest.
Mite populations on elm logs infested by European elm bark beetles
Zeitschrift für Angewandte Entomologie, 2009
Mites were sampled on each of six occasions from one of a total of six elm logs (Ulmus carpinifoliu Gleditsch) naturally infested by elm bark beetles (Scolytus scolytus F. and S. multistriatus Marsh.), over a eriod of one year. A total of 7812 mites were counted and identified to family or enus. Overalf the mean number of mites found on and beneath the bark was 0.92/cmZ. O n the surface of the bark the mean count was 0.43 mites/cm2 and below the bark (excluding 2 logs where there was little or no bark beetle infestation) the number was 0.71 1 mites/cm2. Of the mites collected, 89 O / O belonged to the Prostigmata, 6 O/O Cryptostigmara, 2.5 O/o Astigmata and 2.5 '/D Mesostigmata. The distribution of mites in relation to height above ground (u to 1.5 m) and aspect varied wide1 between the six logs. The highest total number of mites were Pound on the north side (2531) and t i e lowest on the south side (1478). The ecological si nificance of the numerical data obtained is discussed in relation to individual families or genera o f mites.
The mites (Acari) associated with bark beetles in the Koli National Park in Finland
Acarologia, 2013
Thirty-three taxa associated with Ips typographus were identified, of which fifteen species were phoretic. The most abundant species were Insectolaelaps quadrisetus (Mesostigmata), Siculobata lentonycha (Oribata), Diapterobates humeralis (Oribata), Ereynetes propescutulis (Prostigmata), Aetiophenax ipidarius (Prostigmata), and an unidentified species of Nanacarus (Astigmata). Eight species -I. quadrisetus, Proctolaelaps fiseri, Trichouropoda polytricha, Mexecheles virginiensis, A. ipidarius, E. propescutulis, Bonomoia pini, and Boletoglyphus boletophagi -and four genera -Nanacarus, Elattoma, Schwiebia, and Parawinterschmidtia -were new taxa in Finland.