Soil and litter microarthropod populations from two contrasting ecosystems in semi-arid eastern Australia

In a project designed to identify and quantify acarine communities in semi-arid eastern Australia, microarthropod populations in surface soil and litter were sampled during different seasons across a range of microhabitats in both heavy- and medium-textured soils. Major differences in mite assemblag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of arid environments Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 329 - 346
Main Authors:	Noble, James C., Whitford, Walter G., Kaliszweski, Marek
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier Ltd 01-03-1996
Subjects:	abundance distance dispersal distribution microarthropod populations organic carbon content semi-arid Australia soil texture soil texture abundance distance dispersal semi-arid Australia microarthropod populations distribution organic carbon content
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Summary:	In a project designed to identify and quantify acarine communities in semi-arid eastern Australia, microarthropod populations in surface soil and litter were sampled during different seasons across a range of microhabitats in both heavy- and medium-textured soils. Major differences in mite assemblages were recorded between these soils, as well as between contrasting microhabitats within each soil type. In the medium-textured soil, richness and abundance of Acari taxa were related to soil organic carbon in the surface soil (0–1 cm), particularly for the Prostigmata. This relationship was not apparent in the heavy-textured soil where organic carbon content was considerably higher (4–9·5% cf. 0·4–1·75%). The highest densities on the medium-textured soil ( c. 2600 m −2dominated by Speleorchestes, Eupodesand Pseudocheylusspp.) were recorded in mulga groves where there was abundant surface litter. However these densities were greatly exceeded under annual grassland on the heavy-textured soil ( c. 14,000 m −2, dominated by Afrotydeusspp.). These are amongst the highest mite densities recorded on semi-arid soils in Australia, possibly due to these grasslands being the least saline of the sites sampled in the chenopod shrublands. Broad similarities in microarthropod composition at family and generic levels in similar ecosystems in Australia and North America suggest either convergent evolution under similar selection pressures or long distance dispersal in the past. Inter-hemisphere dispersal of these microscopic animals may have been facilitated by stronger winds which prevailed during glacial periods, despite the inter-tropical convergence zone over the Pacific Ocean.
ISSN:	0140-1963 1095-922X
DOI:	10.1006/jare.1996.0027