Responses of water mite assemblages (Acari) to environmental parameters at irrigated rice cultivation fields and native lakes

By

Da Silva, Guilherme Liberato
Metzelthin, Maicon H.
Da-Costa, Tairis
Rocha, Matheus
Silva, Darliane E.
Ferla, Noeli Juarez
Da Silva, Onilda S.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017-8-10

Original Publication

NeoBiota : advancing research on alien species and biological invasions

Volume

34

Pages

1--8

Subjects

Coastal Plain , Habitat , physical and chemical variables , rice field , Water mite

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sophia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zoologia.34.e19988

 

Abstract

Many studies have revealed that water mite communities can be affected by the physical and chemical parameters of the water. The similarity between the water ‘mite assemblages in local water bodies and in irrigated rice areas can be a way to measure the water conditions, enabling an assessment of the anthropic impact in the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of water mites in lakes and irrigated rice fields in south Brazil. To accomplish that we characterized the distinctive environments using physical and chemical variables such as pH, turbidity (NTU), water temperature (°C) and dissolved oxygen (mg/L), in order to verify the influence of these abiotic factors on the species composition of water mite communities; and to compare water mite abundance, richness and composition among different habitats. We assessed three native lakes and four sites with irrigated rice cultivation. Our results showed, for the first time in Brazil, strong correlations between the water mite fauna and turbidity. In addition, native lakes were richer and had greater mite abundance when compared with the irrigated rice areas.