Krantz G W
Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331, USA.
Exp Appl Acarol. 1998 Mar;22(3):125-37. doi: 10.1023/a:1006097811592.
The Macrochelidae is a cosmopolitan family of predatory mesostigmatic mites, many of which occupy specialized and often unstable habitats. Most known species have adapted to life in dung deposits where prey is plentiful and the potential exists for rapid population growth. Phoresy on co-occurring flying insects plays a vital role in assuring niche continuity for macrochelids in these ephemeral substrates. A brief general review of some of the earlier highlights of macrochelid research is presented, followed by a discussion of the emergence of phoresy as a major survival strategy in the Macrochelidae associated with dung beetles. Special emphasis is placed on the behavioural and chemical mechanisms that mediate phoretic specificity of macrochelid species in the unique n-dimensional universes of their scarab hosts. Phylogenetic analysis of selected phoretic and non-phoretic macrochelid taxa has shown a strong correlation between phoretic state and evolutionary position, indicating that an increasing commitment to phoresy in the Macrochelidae is correlated with an advance from early derivative to terminal taxa. Laboratory and field observations have confirmed the importance of chemical, behavioural and ecological factors in maintaining the integrity of the relationship between phoretically specific macrochelids and their dung beetle hosts.
巨螯螨科是一个分布于全球的掠食性中气门螨类家族，其中许多成员占据着特殊且往往不稳定的栖息地。大多数已知物种已适应在粪便堆积物中生活，那里猎物丰富，且存在种群快速增长的潜力。搭乘同时出现的飞行昆虫进行携带现象，在确保巨螯螨在这些短暂基质中的生态位连续性方面起着至关重要的作用。本文首先简要概述了巨螯螨研究早期的一些重要成果，接着讨论了搭乘现象作为巨螯螨科与蜣螂相关的一种主要生存策略的出现。特别强调了在其金龟子宿主独特的n维世界中，介导巨螯螨物种搭乘特异性的行为和化学机制。对选定的搭乘型和非搭乘型巨螯螨类群的系统发育分析表明，搭乘状态与进化位置之间存在很强的相关性，这表明巨螯螨科中对搭乘现象的依赖增加与从早期衍生类群到终端类群的进化进程相关。实验室和野外观察证实了化学、行为和生态因素在维持搭乘特异性巨螯螨与其蜣螂宿主之间关系完整性方面的重要性。
