Rozwój fauny roztoczy na hałdach, czyli jak przyroda walczy z przemysłem

• Authors: Piotr Skubała

Title variants

EN

The development of mite fauna on dumps or how nature struggles with industry

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

Summary Mites, although tiny themselves, belong to the largest and most impressive lineage of animals, the arthropods. Over 45000 species of mites have been described and perhaps between 0.5 and 1 million currently exist. They are studied by disproportionately few systematists, ecologists, ethologists or evolutionary biologists. Mites are excellent models for addressing questions of more general interest, e.g. the importance of biodiversity, transgenic release, biomonitoring, the evolution of host specificity and virulence, sexual selection or the limits of physiology and morphology. Soil is the habitat of many mites, where their role is invaluable. The colonization of postindustrial dumps by mites is particularly interesting from the ecological point of view. The author thoroughly investigated 18 different dumps. The abundance of oribatids exceeded usually 2 several thousand of individuals per m and over 10 species occurred on young dumps (where the exploitation stopped several years ago). After 30 years the 2 abundance (over 20000 per m ) and species richness (between 18 to 42 species) were 2-3 times lower than in the neighbouring natural habitats. The colonization of dumps contaminated with heavy metals proceeded at a significantly slower rate. Many pioneer species, characterized by different morphological and ecological features, were described. In the course of investigations 205 oribatid species were identified on dumps (40% of total oribatid fauna in Poland). 32 species were new for the Polish fauna and 43 were recorded for the first time from Upper Silesia.

• Journal: Kosmos
• Year: 2002
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 195-204

Dates

published

2002

Contributors

author

Piotr Skubała

• Katedra Ekologii, Uniwersytet Śląski, Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice, Polska

References

• BEHAN-PELLETIER V., NEWTON G., 1999. Linking soil biodiversity and ecosystem function - The taxonomic dilemma. BioScience 42, 149-153.
• EHRLICH P. R., WILSON E. O., 1991. Biodiversity Studies: Science and Policy. Science 253, 758-762.
• GILLER P. S., 1996. The diversity of soil communities, the 'poor man's tropical rainforest'. Biodiversity and Conservation 5, 135-168.
• KRIVOLUCKIJ D. A., 1976. Rol' pancirnych kleščej v biogeocenozach. Zool. . 55, 226-236.
• LAVELLE P., 1997. Faunal activities and soil processes: adaptive strategies that determine ecosystem function. Advances Ecol. Res. 27, 93-132.
• MARSHALL V. G., REEVES R. M., NORTON R. A., 1987. Catalogue of the Oribatida (Acari) of continental USA and Canada. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Can. 139, 1-418.
• NIEDBAŁA W., 1980. Mechowce - roztocze ekosystemów lądowych. PWN, Warszawa.
• NORTON R. A., PALMER S. C., 1991. The distribution, mechanisms and evolutionary significance of parthenogenesis in oribatid mites. [W:] The Acari: Reproduction, Development and Life-History Strategies.
• SCHUSTER R., MURPHY P.W. (red.). Chapman & Hall, London, 107-136.
• WALTER D., PROCTOR H., 1999. Mites. Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour. CABI Publishing, New York, USA.
• WEINER J., 1999. Życie i ewolucja biosfery. PWN, Warszawa.
• WILSON E.O., 1999. Różnorodnoość życia. PIW, Warszawa.