Fei Yifan, Shi Zheng, Zhou Yuanyuan, Wei Qiang, Liu Ying, Shen Yan, Chen Hu
School of Karst Science Guizhou Normal University Guiyang China.
Ecol Evol. 2024 Aug 7;14(8):e11527. doi: 10.1002/ece3.11527. eCollection 2024 Aug.
Mites are among the most abundant invertebrates in subsurface ecosystems, and their community assemblages and distributions are often significantly influenced by the diversity of habitat resources. The cave ecosystem encompasses drastic changes in nonbiological factors, such as changes in lighting conditions from bright to extraordinarily dark and habitat gradients of surface plant resources from abundant to scarce or even disappearing, providing an ideal unique environment for evaluating the assembly mechanism of soil animal communities. Nevertheless, there still needs to be a sufficient understanding of the biodiversity patterns and drivers of mite communities across environmental gradients in karst caves. We conducted a comprehensive survey on the composition and diversity of soil mites in three photometric zones (dark, twilight, and light) of a typical karst cave and its adjoining extractive environments (forest scrub and farmland). Our research aimed to investigate the ecological relationships of mite communities between above- and below-ground habitats and the effects of abiotic factors on mite communities. We collected 49 families, 86 genera, and 1284 mites. In the external cave environment, we captured 1052 mites from 72 genera and 45 families; in the internal cave environment, we captured 232 mites from 46 genera and 29 families. The abundance, richness of genera, and diversity parameters of the mite community decreased from the cave entrance to the cave interior with decreasing light intensity. Oribatid mites dominated the mite community. and were the dominant genera, along with and 11 other genera, which primarily distinguished the mite communities among different habitats. Forty endemic taxa were found in the external cave environment, compared to 14 endemic taxa in the internal cave environment. The mite community showed a strong preference for the cave ecosystem habitat. Temperature, humidity, and soil nitrogen content significantly influenced the distribution pattern of mite communities (VIP > 0.8, < 0.05).
螨类是地下生态系统中数量最为丰富的无脊椎动物之一，其群落组合和分布常常受到栖息地资源多样性的显著影响。洞穴生态系统包含非生物因素的剧烈变化，例如光照条件从明亮变为极度黑暗，以及地表植物资源的栖息地梯度从丰富变为稀缺甚至消失，这为评估土壤动物群落的组装机制提供了理想的独特环境。然而，对于喀斯特洞穴中跨环境梯度的螨类群落的生物多样性模式和驱动因素，仍需要有充分的了解。我们对一个典型喀斯特洞穴的三个光度区（黑暗、微光和明亮）及其毗邻的采掘环境（森林灌丛和农田）中的土壤螨类的组成和多样性进行了全面调查。我们的研究旨在调查地上和地下栖息地之间螨类群落的生态关系以及非生物因素对螨类群落的影响。我们采集到了49科、86属、共1284只螨。在洞穴外部环境中，我们从45科72属捕获到1052只螨；在洞穴内部环境中，我们从29科46属捕获到232只螨。螨类群落的丰度、属的丰富度和多样性参数从洞穴入口到洞穴内部随着光照强度的降低而下降。甲螨在螨类群落中占主导地位。 和 是优势属，连同 和其他11个属一起，主要区分了不同栖息地之间的螨类群落。在洞穴外部环境中发现了40个特有分类单元，相比之下，洞穴内部环境中有14个特有分类单元。螨类群落对洞穴生态系统栖息地表现出强烈的偏好。温度、湿度和土壤氮含量显著影响螨类群落的分布模式（VIP > 0.8， < 0.05）。
