Soil mite (Acari: Oribatida) communities in the limestone quarry of Saskhori (Gerogia)

By

Arabuli, Tea
Gogshelidze, Mariam

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023-11-17

Original Publication

Caucasiana : journal on the biodiversity of the Caucasus and the adjacent regions

Volume

2

Pages

189--197

Subjects

Caucasus , Kartly Region , Liacaridae , Liacarus oribatelloides

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[Sofia, Bulgaria] Pensoft 2022-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/caucasiana.2.e110495

 

Abstract

<br> Abstract<br> <br> The present publication provides a review of the soil mite (Acari; Oribatida) community’s structure and the connection between changes in environmental factors and oribatid mite diversity in the limestone quarry of Saskhori and its adjacent areas. Overall, 52 species were recorded during the study. The most abundant oribatid mite species were Steganacarus carinatus, Aleurodamaeus setosus, Xenillus tegeocranus, Ceratoppia bipilis, Oribatula tibialis, and Punctoribates punctum. Interestingly, 23 species of oribatid mites were recorded for the first time from the limestone quarry of Saskhori, and one species (Liacarus oribatelloides) was a new record for the Caucasus fauna. The following indices were analyzed: abundance (N), species diversity (S), Shannon’s diversity index (H), and Pielou’s evenness index (J’). Regarding the obtained results, the highest density of oribatid mites was recorded in the habitat with Shibliak shrubbery (332 inds/m2), while the forest habitat was characterized with the highest value for Shannon’s diversity index (2,64). In the publication, we also provide a detailed morphological description of the newly recorded species L. oribatelloides, with the respective illustration, as no figures are given in its original description.