A Red List of mites from the suborder Uropodina (Acari: Parasitiformes) in Poland

Agnieszka Napierała,Jerzy Błoszyk,Zofia Książkiewicz-Parulska

doi:10.1007/s10493-018-0284-5

Agnieszka Napierała, Jerzy Błoszyk + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-018-0284-5

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Abstract

This article presents a Red List of mite species from the suborder Uropodina (Acari: Parasitiformes) occurring in Poland. Evaluation of the conservation status of the analyzed species was compiled on the basis of new criteria, which may also be applied to other groups of soil fauna. The authors employ the names of categories proposed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of our aims was to review the IUCN criteria to ascertain whether they are applicable in an attempt to assess the danger of extinction of soil invertebrates, and to see whether the criteria can be adapted to make such an assessment. The analyzed material contained 93 mite species obtained from 16,921 soil samples, which were collected between 1961 and 2017 in the whole area of Poland. The categories were assigned to species on the basis of the frequency of the species, but also other factors were taken into account, such as microhabitat specificity, vulnerability to detrimental conditions, and shrinking of local populations. One of the analyzed species can now be regarded as extinct, over 25% of the species (26 spp.) were labeled as critically endangered, and most of them (33 spp.) were categorized as vulnerable—the other species were assigned to the categories endangered (13 spp.), near threatened (10 spp.), and least concern (10 spp.).

Highlights

The deteriorating condition of the natural environment—which is evident in the shrinkage of natural habitats, a decrease in population abundance of many species, and, as a result, an overall decline in biodiversity—is the major reason why so many species of the Euro‐ pean fauna have been listed in the European Red List, which is part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species
Because mites from the suborder Uropodina have been already thoroughly described based on long-term quantitative research (Athias-Binche 1977a, b, c, 1981a, b, c, 1982a, b, 1983; Błoszyk 1983, 1984, 1999; Wiśniewski and Hirschmann 1993; Wiśniewski 1997; Mašán 2001; Błoszyk et al 2003a), the current study presents the Red List of threatened species of soil mites in Poland, and an analysis of the IUCN criteria for this group of organ‐ isms
This study presents an assessment of the conservation status of Uropodina species in Poland, and a classification of the species according to the IUCN criteria

Summary

Introduction

The deteriorating condition of the natural environment—which is evident in the shrinkage of natural habitats, a decrease in population abundance of many species, and, as a result, an overall decline in biodiversity—is the major reason why so many species of the Euro‐ pean fauna have been listed in the European Red List, which is part of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Experimental and Applied Acarology (2018) 75:467–490 fresh-water mollusks and 20% of some terrestrial mollusks, 15% of dragonflies, 11% of saproxylic beetles, and 9% of butterflies (European Commission 2017). This clearly suggests that the assessment of the extent to which species are endangered focuses mainly on vertebrates and the invertebrate species that can be found in the examined area. Other ecosystem components, are often polluted causing environmental degradation, which can have a tremendous impact on species composition and the abundance of mite com‐ munities in a given area (Kaczmarek and Seniczak 1994, 1998; Napierała 2008; Napierała et al 2015b). Soil mites are pivotal in nutrient cycling, soil forma‐ tion, and decomposition of organic matter, which in turn can affect soil fertility and plant growth, and these organisms are important for economic reasons (Jeffery and Gardi 2010)

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