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Graczyk R, Indykiewicz P, Olszewski A, Tobółka M. Mites Living in the Nests of the White Stork and Black Stork in Microhabitats of the Forest Environment and Agrocenoses. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3189. [PMID: 37893913 PMCID: PMC10603721 DOI: 10.3390/ani13203189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) and the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) are well-known model organisms for the study of bird migration, as well as the selectivity of nesting sites and the choice of living environment. The former breeds mainly in open areas, while the latter inhabits forest areas. The acarofauna, and in particular Oribatida, inhabiting the nests of these species, has not been thoroughly explored so far. Therefore, we analyzed the material collected from 70 White Stork nests and 34 Black Stork nests in Poland, between Poznań and Rawicz, and in Kampinos National Park. Our research has increased the faunal and ecological knowledge of the mite fauna inhabiting the nests of large migratory bird species. Oribatida constituted 5-12% of the total mites identified in the nests of White and Black Storks. Their average number was several times higher in the Black Stork nests (80.2 individuals in 500 cm3). Also, the species diversity of moss mites was greater in the Black Stork nests (47 species). In total, the nests of the two stork species were inhabited by 62 moss mite species, with only 22 recorded in both the White and the Black Storks' nests. The most numerous species included Ramusella clavipectinata, R. fasciata, Oppiella subpectinata, Acrogalumna longipluma, and Scheloribates laevigatus. In addition, we found that juvenile oribatid mites accounted for 0.6% of all the mites in the White Stork nests, with tritonymphs having the largest share, while juveniles in the Black Stork nests comprised 1.4%, of which larvae and protonymphs had the largest share. Our research shows that the nests of large migratory birds provide living space for many mite species. In addition, we noted the potential importance of White and Black Stork nests for mite dispersion and the evolution of interspecies interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radomir Graczyk
- Department of Biology and Animal Environment, Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Mazowiecka 28 Str., 85-084 Bydgoszcz, Poland;
| | - Piotr Indykiewicz
- Department of Biology and Animal Environment, Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Mazowiecka 28 Str., 85-084 Bydgoszcz, Poland;
| | - Adam Olszewski
- Kampinos National Park, Tetmajera 38 Str., 05-080 Izabelin, Poland;
| | - Marcin Tobółka
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71c Str., 60-625 Poznan, Poland;
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Laska A, Puchalska E, Mikołajczyk M, Gwiazdowicz DJ, Kaźmierski A, Niedbała W, Błoszyk J, Olszanowski Z, Szymkowiak J, Hałas N, Kuczyński L, Skoracka A. Mites inhabiting nests of wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Aves: Passeriformes), in the Wielkopolska National Park in western Poland. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2023; 89:393-416. [PMID: 37029286 PMCID: PMC10167128 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-023-00792-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The wood warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix (Aves: Passeriformes), is a well-known model organism for studying bird migration, breeding habitat selection and nest predation. The nest acarofauna of this bird species has not been extensively studied so far. To provide a comprehensive report on mite species inhabiting wood warbler nests and to assess infestation parameters (prevalence, intensity, and abundance) for mite species and orders, we collected 45 nests of this bird species in the Wielkopolska National Park in western Poland. Analyses revealed a huge diversity (198 species) of mites inhabiting wood warbler nests. We found individuals belonging to the Mesostigmata, Trombidiformes and Sarcoptiformes. The Trombidiformes, represented in our study only by the Prostigmata, achieved statistically significantly lower intensity and abundance, compared to representatives of other orders. However, the number of recorded prostigmatid species was high (65). The most common were: Stigmaeus sphagneti (22 nests), Stigmaeus longipilis (16), Eupodes voxencollinus (15), Cunaxa setirostris (14), Stigmaeus pilatus (11), and Linopodes sp. 2 (10). The prevalence of Mesostigmata and Sarcoptiformes was equal, reaching 91.1%. Most of Gamasina (Mesostigmata) species found in this study were more characteristic of the soil environment and forest litter than bird nests, but there was also a typical bird parasite, viz. Ornithonyssus sylviarum. None of the observed species of Uropodina (Mesostigmata) or Oribatida (Sarcoptiformes) was typical for bird nests. Among the Uropodina, the highest parameters of nest infestation were achieved by Oodinychus ovalis, whereas among the Oribatida, they were achieved by Metabelba pulverosa. We discuss the importance of wood warbler nests for mite dispersal, survival and reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicja Laska
- Population Ecology Lab, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Ewa Puchalska
- Section of Applied Entomology, Department of Plant Protection, Warsaw University of Life Sciences - SGGW, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Martyna Mikołajczyk
- Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Dariusz J Gwiazdowicz
- Department of Forest Entomology and Pathology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Andrzej Kaźmierski
- Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Wojciech Niedbała
- Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Jerzy Błoszyk
- Department of General Zoology & Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Ziemowit Olszanowski
- Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Jakub Szymkowiak
- Population Ecology Lab, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Natalia Hałas
- Population Ecology Lab, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Lechosław Kuczyński
- Population Ecology Lab, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
| | - Anna Skoracka
- Population Ecology Lab, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
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Kurek P, Nowakowski K, Rutkowski T, Ważna A, Cichocki J, Zacharyasiewicz M, Błoszyk J. Underground diversity: Uropodina mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) from European badger (Meles meles) nests. EXPERIMENTAL & APPLIED ACAROLOGY 2020; 82:503-513. [PMID: 33098499 PMCID: PMC7686195 DOI: 10.1007/s10493-020-00563-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Badgers can gather huge quantities of organic material to build their nests for winter time and to rear their cubs. Moreover, badger burrows (setts) are characterized by specific microclimate with quite stable temperature and humidity. Their fauna is poorly studied, especially in respect of saprobiontic Uropodina mites. In 2018-2019, we monitored 94 badger setts to search for nest material that had been thrown away during cleaning of the chambers after mating and winter sleep. In the collected material from 32 badger nests, we found 413 Uropodina mites of 16 species, in various stages of development (adults, protonymphs, and deutonymphs). The community was dominated by three mite species: Trematura patavina (22.5%, n = 93), Oodinychus ovalis (17.2%, n = 71), and Olodiscus minima (15.5%, n = 64). Other nidicolous-i.e., nest-dwelling-species included: Nenteria oudemansi (14.8%, n = 61), Phaulodiaspis borealis (7.0%, n = 29), Phaulodiaspis rackei (4.6%, n = 19), Uroseius hunzikeri (1.7%, n = 7), Uropoda orbicularis (1.5%, n = 6), and Apionoseius infirmus (1.0%, n = 4). The most frequent species were: Oodinychus ovalis (62.5%, 20 nests), N. oudemansi (46.9%, 15 nests), and Olodiscus minima (40.6%, 13 nests). Detrended correspondence analysis indicated that the Uropodina community from badger nests differed from that of mole nests, studied earlier. In setts, the Uropodina community included T. patavina and N. oudemansi, which were for the first time recorded from underground badger nests. This is the first record of N. oudemansi from Poland.
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Affiliation(s)
- Przemysław Kurek
- Department of Plant Ecology and Environmental Protection, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznań, Poland.
| | - Krzysztof Nowakowski
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, Prof. Z. Szafrana 1, 65-516, Zielona Góra, Poland
| | - Tomasz Rutkowski
- Natural History Collections, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznań, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Ważna
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, Prof. Z. Szafrana 1, 65-516, Zielona Góra, Poland
| | - Jan Cichocki
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Zielona Góra, Prof. Z. Szafrana 1, 65-516, Zielona Góra, Poland
| | - Michał Zacharyasiewicz
- Department of General Zoology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznań, Poland
| | - Jerzy Błoszyk
- Natural History Collections, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznań, Poland
- Department of General Zoology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614, Poznań, Poland
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