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Mumladze, Levan and Murvanidze, Maka and Maraun, Mark and Salakaia, Meri (2015) Oribatid mite communities along an elevational gradient in Sairme gorge (Caucasus). Experimental and Applied Acarology, 66. pp. 41-51.
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Mumladze et al. - 2015 - Oribatid mite communities along an elevational gradient in Sairme gorge (Caucasus).pdf - Published Version Download (608kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Many aboveground animals and plant communities have been studied along elevational gradients whereas studies on soil animals are scarce. Here, we studied oribatid mite community distribution along an elevational gradient from 600 to 2200 m in forest ecosystems of the Western Lesser Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. Overall, 86 oribatid mite species were found at the study sites. Oribatid mite densities were generally low (*9800 ind./m2), and 74 % of all species reproduced sexually indicating that resource conditions at the study sites are generally poor. Oribatids mainly comprised Brachypylina (76 %), Mixonomata (13 %), Desmonomata (6 %) and Enarthronota (5 %). Oribatid mite community structure changed along the elevational gradient and the changes correlated with temperature, pH, litter thickness and density of the herb layer. The dominance of sexually reproducing taxa and low overall abundance indicate that the studied elevational gradient is characterized by poor resource conditions for soil microarthropods. Oribatid mite species richness and density declined with elevation suggesting that decreasing temperature in concert with resource limitation is a main driver of oribatid mite com- munities whereas stochastic factors (such as mid-domain effects) are of minor importance.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Elevational gradient in soul animal diversity |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QJ Natural Science Q Science > Ecology Q Science > QL Zoology |
| Divisions: | Institutes > Institute of Ecology |
| Depositing User: | Dr ლევან მუმლაძე |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Mar 2016 09:50 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Mar 2016 09:50 |
| URI: | http://eprints.iliauni.edu.ge/id/eprint/4261 |
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