Synanthropic acaridia mites and their the number in farm buildings in the territory of the Transcarpathian region.

Abstract

The work is devoted to the study of the structure of acarid mite communities in synanthropic conditions and changes in their numbers under the influence of environmental factors at different altitudes. Purpose: to study the influence of various climatic conditions, altitude, and farm buildings on the abundance of synanthropic storage mites of dominant and subdominant species from the Acaridia group in the Transcarpathian region. Research objects – synanthropic storage mites from the Acaridia group. Research material – litter and fodder for animal collected from various farm buildings: haylofts, chicken coops, cowsheds, storage rooms, and outbuildings. Methods: analytical review on the subject of research; analysis of the biological characteristics of storage mites; experimental – microscopy for identifying mites and their numbers; determination of biodiversity indicators: dominance index, density and frequency of occurrence; mathematical and statistical – using computer mathematical functions built into the Microsoft Excel program 2003. Results. In the synanthropic conditions studied, 10 species of acarid mites were identified, which corresponded to the categories «dominant species» and «subdominant species». Namely, eight species – Tyrolichus casei, Tyrophagus perniciosus, Neoacotyledon sokolovi, Chortoglyphus arcuatus, Gohieria fuscа, Lepidoglyphus burchanensis, Glycyphagus domesticus, and Lepidoglyphus destructor were classified as «subdominant species», regardless of the type of farm buildings, vertical zoning, and climatic conditions. The «dominant species» in the foothills and mountainous conditions included A. siro and T. putrescentiae. Meanwhile in the lowlands, only A. siro was the «dominant species». Conclusions. Among farm buildings, the highest number of acarid mites (dominant and subdominant species) was observed in cowsheds – 33.72 %, and the lowest – in haylofts, 12.29 % of the total number. The highest biodiversity indicators of acarid mites were observed in the foothills (the average number of mites in 1 sample was 7.86, density – 0.98, frequency of occurrence – 58.13, dominance index – 5.21). The lowest indicators were in the mountainous area (the average number of mites in 1 sample was 5.15, density was 0.64, frequency of occurrence was 44.94) and in the lowlands (dominance index was 4.22). The variety of farm buildings and altitudinal zoning had different effects on the diversity and the number of acarid mites. The indicators of some mite species differed significantly from the general values. Key words: mites (dominant and subdominant species), altitudinal zonation, biodiversity indices.