Graczyk Radomir, Indykiewicz Piotr, Olszewski Adam, Tobółka Marcin
Department of Biology and Animal Environment, Faculty of Animal Breeding and Biology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Mazowiecka 28 Str., 85-084 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Kampinos National Park, Tetmajera 38 Str., 05-080 Izabelin, Poland.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Oct 12;13(20):3189. doi: 10.3390/ani13203189.
The White Stork () and the Black Stork () are well-known model organisms for the study of bird migration, as well as the selectivity of nesting sites and the choice of living environment. The former breeds mainly in open areas, while the latter inhabits forest areas. The acarofauna, and in particular Oribatida, inhabiting the nests of these species, has not been thoroughly explored so far. Therefore, we analyzed the material collected from 70 White Stork nests and 34 Black Stork nests in Poland, between Poznań and Rawicz, and in Kampinos National Park. Our research has increased the faunal and ecological knowledge of the mite fauna inhabiting the nests of large migratory bird species. Oribatida constituted 5-12% of the total mites identified in the nests of White and Black Storks. Their average number was several times higher in the Black Stork nests (80.2 individuals in 500 cm). Also, the species diversity of moss mites was greater in the Black Stork nests (47 species). In total, the nests of the two stork species were inhabited by 62 moss mite species, with only 22 recorded in both the White and the Black Storks' nests. The most numerous species included , , , and . In addition, we found that juvenile oribatid mites accounted for 0.6% of all the mites in the White Stork nests, with tritonymphs having the largest share, while juveniles in the Black Stork nests comprised 1.4%, of which larvae and protonymphs had the largest share. Our research shows that the nests of large migratory birds provide living space for many mite species. In addition, we noted the potential importance of White and Black Stork nests for mite dispersion and the evolution of interspecies interactions.
白鹳（）和黑鹳（）是研究鸟类迁徙、筑巢地点选择性和生活环境选择的著名模式生物。前者主要在开阔地区繁殖，而后者栖息于森林地区。迄今为止，尚未对栖息在这些物种巢穴中的螨类区系，尤其是甲螨进行深入研究。因此，我们分析了在波兰波兹南和拉维茨之间以及坎皮诺斯国家公园收集的70个白鹳巢穴和34个黑鹳巢穴中的材料。我们的研究增加了对大型候鸟物种巢穴中螨类区系的动物区系和生态学知识。甲螨占白鹳和黑鹳巢穴中鉴定出的螨类总数的5 - 12%。它们在黑鹳巢穴中的平均数量高出几倍（每500平方厘米有80.2只个体）。此外，黑鹳巢穴中的苔藓螨物种多样性更高（47种）。这两种鹳类的巢穴中总共栖息着62种苔藓螨，只有22种在白鹳和黑鹳的巢穴中都有记录。数量最多的物种包括、、、和。此外，我们发现幼体甲螨占白鹳巢穴中所有螨类的0.6%，其中后若螨占比最大，而黑鹳巢穴中的幼体占1.4%，其中幼虫和前若螨占比最大。我们的研究表明，大型候鸟的巢穴为许多螨类物种提供了生存空间。此外，我们注意到白鹳和黑鹳巢穴对螨类扩散和种间相互作用进化的潜在重要性。
