Littoral mesostigmatic mites (Acari, Parasitiformes) from the Kola Peninsula

Abstract

In spite of the generally high interest to ecosystems of high latitudes, there is not a single mite species list for any Arctic coastal location yet. Mesostigmatic mites are diverse and abundant in invertebrate littoral communities, while in the sea wrack, they are a dominant mite group. We studied these mites in different coastal habitats in the forested tundra landscape in the vicinity of Murmansk, Kola Bay, Barents Sea (68° 55′ N, 33° 02′ E). Altogether, 31 species from 21 genera and 12 families are recorded. This species number is only half to ¾ of that of the coastal species richness within the taiga zone of the Murmansk Region, White Sea coasts. Along the vertical profile from the low littoral zone (Fucus spp.) to the supralittoral one (grass-forb meadow), both species diversity and abundance grow from 1 to 22 species and from 3 to 170–450 ind. dm−2, respectively. About 1/3 of the species show vast distributions, but 40% species are amphi-Atlantic or European. No truly Arctic species were found, an Arcto-Montane+Arcto-Boreal+Boreal fraction of the fauna was very small (19%), and half of the species demonstrating polyzonal patterns. From an ecological point of view, the fauna is rather specialized, since 29% species are halobiontic seashore residents, while 39% are common dwellers of humid meadows and bogs. Winter populations of mites belonging to the family Halolaelapidae are represented mainly by deutonymphs, but populations of Cheiroseius spp. (family Blattisocidae) include mostly females. Similarities between the coastal mite assemblages of the study transect are primarily determined by hypsometric levels, but no principal differences in the mite communities of vegetation parcels within individual levels are found.