Abstract
Dispersal shapes the dynamics of populations, their genetic structure and species distribution; therefore, knowledge of an organisms’ dispersal abilities is crucial, especially in economically important and invasive species. In this study, we investigated dispersal strategies of two phytophagous eriophyoid mite species: Aceria tosichella (wheat curl mite, WCM) and Abacarus hystrix (cereal rust mite, CRM). Both species are obligatory plant parasites that infest cereals and are of economic significance. We investigated their dispersal success using different dispersal agents: wind and vectors. We hypothesised that in both mite species the main mode of dispersal is moving via wind, whereas phoretic dispersal is rather accidental, as the majority of eriophyoid mite species do not possess clear morphological or behavioural adaptations for phoresy. Results confirmed our predictions that both species dispersed mainly with wind currents. Additionally, WCM was found to have a higher dispersal success than CRM. Thus, this study contributes to our understanding of the high invasive potential of WCM.
Highlights
Dispersal is an important biological process that determines the dynamics and spatial distribution of populations, shapes their genetic structure, and affects evolutionary processes, such as local adaptation and speciation (Ronce 2007; Clobert et al 2012)
wheat curl mite (WCM) specimens originated from common wheat Triticum aestivum in Choryń, Poland (52°02′36′′ N, 16°46′02′′ E), and cereal rust mite (CRM) specimens originated from quack grass, Elymus repens (L.) Gould, in Poznań, Poland (52°28′04′′ N, 16°55′36′′ E)
The two eriophyoid species studied significantly differed in their aerial dispersal success; WCM dispersed more effectively than CRM
Summary
Dispersal is an important biological process that determines the dynamics and spatial distribution of populations, shapes their genetic structure, and affects evolutionary processes, such as local adaptation and speciation (Ronce 2007; Clobert et al 2012). There is some evidence that eriophyoid mites can disperse actively for short distances, i.e., by walking within or between plants (Michalska et al 2010; Galvão et al 2012; Melo et al 2014; Majer et al 2021a). This mode of dispersal is extremely limited due to their minute size
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