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  • The Canopy Starts at 0.5 m: Predatory Mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) Differ between Rain Forest Floor Soil and Suspended Soil at any Height

    Author(s)
    Beaulieu, Frederic
    Walter, David E
    Proctor, Heather C
    Kitching, Roger L
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Kitching, Roger L.
    Proctor, Heather C.
    Year published
    2010
    Metadata
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    Abstract
    Suspended soils in forest canopies are thought to harbor a substantial fraction of canopy biomass and many arboreal specialists, but do forest floor generalist predators with high vagility also use this habitat? We tested the hypothesis of no difference between forest floor and suspended-soil predatory mite faunas (Acari: Mesostigmata) in an Australian rain forest. Our results show that instead of being habitat generalists, many predatory mites partition soil into two main strata: soil suspended aboveground irrespective of height (0.5-20 m) and soil on the ground. Of 53 species of Mesostigmata in suspended soil, 53 percent ...
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    Suspended soils in forest canopies are thought to harbor a substantial fraction of canopy biomass and many arboreal specialists, but do forest floor generalist predators with high vagility also use this habitat? We tested the hypothesis of no difference between forest floor and suspended-soil predatory mite faunas (Acari: Mesostigmata) in an Australian rain forest. Our results show that instead of being habitat generalists, many predatory mites partition soil into two main strata: soil suspended aboveground irrespective of height (0.5-20 m) and soil on the ground. Of 53 species of Mesostigmata in suspended soil, 53 percent (28 species) were absent from or rarely found on the ground. This increased to 60 percent (15/25 species) if only common species are considered. Among these 15 'suspended-soil specialists', all but the three least abundant were found throughout the arboreal strata. Moreover, ten species also occurred in litter accumulated on the surface of decaying logs or boulders close to the forest floor. Thus, although the arboreal predatory mite fauna is distinct from that on the forest floor, it is not restricted to the high canopy: even slightly elevated substrate appears acceptable as habitat for these suspended-soil specialists. Our data suggest that a substantial portion of a rain forest's soil and litter fauna is held above the forest floor.
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    Journal Title
    Biotropica
    Volume
    42
    Issue
    6
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00638.x
    Subject
    Environmental sciences
    Biological sciences
    Other biological sciences not elsewhere classified
    Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/37639
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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