ORIBATID MITES (ORIBATEI) IN THE MESOFAUNA OF PARK ZONES CITIES OF ODESA (UKRAINE)

Abstract

Introduction. The data about mesofauna of the soils of the park areas of Odesa are presented for the first time in this article. Aim. To study the species composition and main ecological characteristics of groups of armored ticks in the soils of the park zones of Odesa city. Methods. In the course of the study, generally accepted methods of soil microarthropod research were used, namely: taking soil samples, extraction of microarthropods in thermoelectrics, and making permanent micropreparations. The main results. According to the results of the study, it was shown that the mesofauna of the soils of the park zones of Odesa contains phonon groups of invertebrates: Enoplea, Malacostraca, Arachnida, Myriapoda, Entognatha, Insecta. Mites (Prostigmata, Mesostigmata, Astigmata) and springtails (Collembola) predominated in all studied biotopes. It is shown that according to the vertical distribution in the soil, mites predominate in the surface layers of the soil (0–5 cm), and springtails prevail in the deeper ones (5–10 cm). 18 species of oribatid mites were identified, which were given the main ecological characteristics: life forms and dominance structure. An environmental assessment was carried out based on the integral index of groups of oribatid mites. Conclusions. According to the analysis of groups of oribatid mites, it is shown that the ecological state of the environment in the parks of the city of Odesa is estimated as “average level of deviations from the norm” in the Shevchenko Park and Youth Square and “slight deviations from the norm” in the Peremogy Arboretum.