Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland)

Niedbała, Wojciech; Napierała, Agnieszka; Wendzonka, Jacek; Lubińska, Karolina; Kulczak, Marta; Błoszyk, Jerzy

doi:10.3390/d16110678

Open AccessArticle

Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland)^†

by

Wojciech Niedbała

¹

,

Agnieszka Napierała

^2,*

,

Jacek Wendzonka

³,

Karolina Lubińska

⁴

,

Marta Kulczak

³ and

Jerzy Błoszyk

²

¹

Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland

²

Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland

³

Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland

⁴

Bory Tucholskie National Park, 89-606 Charzykowy, Poland

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

This article is dedicated to our late colleague Prof. Jerzy Wiśniewski, who was an indefatigable researcher of mites and a pioneer of acarological research in national parks of Poland.

Diversity 2024, 16(11), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16110678

Submission received: 1 October 2024 / Revised: 29 October 2024 / Accepted: 30 October 2024 / Published: 5 November 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity and Ecology of the Acari)

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Abstract

:

There are 23 national parks in Poland, and only a few of them have been studied thoroughly with regard to acarofauna so far. One of the least-examined areas in this regard is Bory Tucholskie National Park (BTNP), established in 1996. The aim of this research study was to explore the species diversity, community structure, and spatial distribution of mites from the order Oribatida: ptyctimous mites (Acari: Oribatida) and species from the families Nothridae and Camisiidae (Acari: Oribatida: Crotonioidea) inhabiting different forests open and unstable microhabitats in the area of Bory Tucholskie National Park (BTNP). In the case of ptyctimous mites, the communities were compared to those in other Polish national parks. Based on the analysis of 285 samples collected in BTNP between 2022 and 2024, 8 species of Crotonioidea with dominant Heminothrus peltifer (C. L. Koch, 1839) and 21 species of ptyctimous mites with the most numerous Atropacarus (Atropacarus) striculus (C. L. Koch, 1835) were identified in the analyzed material. The highest species diversity was observed in different types of pine forests (25 species) and in alder forests (24 species), while the lowest diversity occurred in areas with reeds (11 species). The comparison of the number of ptyctimous mites in Polish national parks revealed that BTNP can be ranked second in terms of species diversity among 12 national parks examined in Poland so far.

Keywords:

biodiversity; monitoring; moss mites; Nothroidea; protected area; ptyctimous mites

1. Introduction

Progressive environmental degradation and climate change have caused a general decline in biodiversity for some time. The loss of biological diversity is well-documented for vertebrates, whereas for invertebrates, this can only be said for a few well-studied groups that attract significant interest from researchers, such as hymenopterans, butterflies, and beetles [1,2]. Soil mesofauna, especially mites, due to the available research methodologies and the low number of experts who study them, are invertebrates that still require further research in this regard [3,4]. Moreover, most groups comprising soil mesofauna are not legally protected species, so the only way to protect them is to protect their habitats. Thus, legally protected areas, especially national parks and nature reserves, are extremely important for preserving the biodiversity of small invertebrates, including soil fauna. Such areas provide protection not only for rare and interesting species, but also, by limiting anthropogenic pressure, they enable the maintenance of a stable structure for the whole soil mesofauna communities.

National parks (NP) are the strictest legal form of nature protection in Poland [5]. Along with nature reserves, they are established in the most valuable natural areas, which is why they have often been the subject of acarological studies in Poland. These studies, usually aimed at examining the species composition of the acarofauna in a given area, as well as those focused on examining communities of a specific group of mites, are very important because they assume monitoring of changes occurring in the soil environment. To assess the rate and direction of changes occurring in invertebrate communities, including species inhabiting soil, reference information is necessary. For this reason, it is very important to collect reliable data, both on the occurrence of particular species and on their abundance, collected in a way that allows for comparative analysis over time. Such data will allow, in the future, to analyze how, in a given location (national park, nature reserve, etc.), specific environment (e.g., deciduous forest, peat bog, etc.), or microhabitat (e.g., dead wood, bird nests, ant hills, etc.), the species composition and structure of a given group of invertebrates change as time passes.

Acarological studies like this were conducted in the past, and a number of them are still being carried out in Poland, with particular emphasis laid on legally protected areas. Some of them were initiated over 60 years ago by Prof. J. Rafalski [6] and are still being continued. On the basis of various materials collected from the whole area of Poland, including 20 parks and over 300 nature reserves, a collection of over 30,000 soil samples and samples from different types of microhabitats has been compiled, which have been used in numerous studies. The data obtained in this way on the different groups of mites found in the analyzed samples are stored in the computer database “Invertebrate Fauna Bank” in the Natural History Collections at the Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań [7,8]. Furthermore, similar data from earlier studies available in the existing literature on the topic are also extracted and processed into a form that allows for further analysis of environmental preferences and establishing the distribution ranges of individual species.

There is no doubt that the research conducted by Prof. J. Wiśniewski, to whom we dedicate this publication, has been a significant contribution to the knowledge of mite fauna in the national parks of Poland. Professor Wiśniewski, as an outstanding naturalist and researcher, especially of forest ecosystems, as well as an acarologist specializing in the taxonomy, ecology, and zoogeography of mites from the order Mesostigmata, was the first to publish a list of mite species from the suborder Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata) found both in Poland [9] and in Polish national parks [10]. Besides this, based on samples collected from national park areas, he also described many species new to science [11,12].

Bory Tucholskie National Park (BTNP) is one of the youngest national parks in Poland and was established in 1996 [13]. For this reason, this park was not included in the study by Wiśniewski [10], though it is mentioned in a few later acarological studies. The first of these discusses mites from the order Mesostigmata recorded in selected microhabitats in BTNP [14]. Later studies by Seniczak and co-authors [15] and Norek [16] focus on mites from the order Oribatida, and the other ones refer to mite communities from the suborder Uropodina in this national park [17,18].

The current article is therefore another study in a series of publications discussing the acarofauna of this park. In this case, species from the order Oribatida of two well-known groups in Poland, i.e., Crotonioidea and ptyctimous mites, were selected for the analysis. The number of species of these mites described in Poland is 20 [19] and 41 [20,21], respectively. Oribatida are important representatives of soil mesofauna. Between them, ptyctimous mites, as well as representatives of the superfamily Crotonioidea, are cosmopolitan, and most of them can be found worldwide. They inhabit different types of habitats and microhabitats, such as soil, litter, mosses, and decaying wood in different types of forest and non-forest ecosystems [20,22,23,24]. They are macrophytophagous, and some of them are xylophagous, feeding on decaying plant material and fungi [22]. Adult ptyctimous mites are classified as secondary decomposers [25]. That is why they play an important role in the process of mechanical fragmentation and accumulation of organic matter, as well as humus production [26]. However, in spite of existing general knowledge of the ecological role of Oribatid mites in forest ecosystems, their biology, ecological requirements, and number and frequency of occurrence in different types of habitats and microhabitats are still largely unknown.

So far, there is no comprehensive study summarizing the state of research on Oribatid mites in national parks in Poland, and only a few studies discuss this fauna. These include the study of Oribatid mites in Świętokrzyski NP [27], two studies on Oribatid mites in Białowieski NP [23,28], and a comparative analysis of the Oribatid mite fauna in Karkonoski and Gorczański NPs [29]. Moreover, a few bits of scattered information on the occurrence of Oribatid mites in national parks can also be found in the Catalogue of Polish Fauna [30] and in monographs focusing on these groups of mites from the order Oribatida [19,20,31]. Besides this, Oribatid mite species were also listed alongside mites from other groups in monographs on some national parks that included mite fauna, such as Ojcowski NP [32,33], Karkonoski NP [34], and Świętokrzyski NP [35], as well as in some other collective publications discussing the acarofauna of some national parks in Poland [36,37,38].

The major aim of the study presented here was to ascertain the species diversity and community structure of Crotonioidea (Nothridae and Camisiidae) and ptyctimous mites inhabiting various types of forests, i.e., open and selected microhabitats in BTNP, taking into account the spatial distribution of individual species within the park area. The secondary goal was to compare the species diversity of the ptyctimous mites in BTNP to the species diversity of communities of this in other national parks in Poland studied earlier by the authors.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area

Bory Tucholskie National Park (53°49′ N 17°34′ E) is located in the northern part of Poland. It was established in 1996 [13] to protect a unique sandr lake district type of landscape, unique to Poland and Europe, with its natural biological diversity. Among its most valuable elements are large pine forests, peat bogs, and 21 lakes, including well-preserved lakes with Lobelia dortmanna L. and Chara sp. The park covers an area of 4613 hectares, of which 83% is forest habitats, 11.5% is water, and 5.5% is other forms. The dominant types of forest habitats are pine forests, constituting almost 98% of the forest area in the park. The remaining forests are mainly alder forests, growing on the edges of lake ditches and stream valleys. A detailed description of the natural environment of the BTPN has been described in many monographic studies [39,40,41,42].

2.2. Materials

The material for the analysis contains data from 285 samples collected in the area of BTNP in October 2022, September–November 2023, and April 2024, stored in the computer database called Invertebrate Fauna Bank. The samples were collected from 156 study sites located all over the park (Figure 1). They came from seven types of forest and open non-forest environments: I. pine habitats (i.e., dry pine forest, fresh pine forest, moist pine forest, and swamp pine forest (103 samples); II. alder forests (28 samples); III. transformed alder forests (i.e., narrow strips at the boundaries of alder and pine habitats with admixtures of linden (Tilia sp.), buckthorn tree (Frangula alnus Mill.), and hazel (Corylus sp.), occurring along streams and lake ditches) (36 samples); IV. peat bogs (14 samples); V. meadows (28 samples); VI. inland dunes (24 samples); and VII. reeds (23 samples). The remaining individual samples came from environments other than those defined above or from undefined environments.

In forest habitats, several samples differentiating every examined site were taken from each plot: from soil, from dead wood (if available, both coniferous and deciduous trees), and occasionally from ant hills. In non-forest habitats (meadows, dunes, and reeds), only soil samples were collected. These samples include litter and soil siftings, as well as samples from meadows and peat bogs and some merocenoses (such as dead wood: stumps, fallen logs, ant hills). The materials were collected by the authors during supplementary research sessions for the purpose of a monograph about invertebrates in BTNP and the accomplishing of a research grant funded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature—IUCN (grant No. SMA-G00-GG-0000000779), with consent for research from the Ministry of Environment and Climate No. DOP-WOPPN.61.118.2023.MŚP.

Mites from the collected samples were extracted for four to five days by means of Berlese–Tullgren funnels in artificial light (40 watts). The specimens were then sorted out and identified with a stereoscopic microscope, Olympus SZX 16. Open slides (Grandjean technique) were made for the juvenile stages, and then they were identified with a microscope, Olympus BX53, with Nomarski Contrast. The identification of the extracted ptyctimous mites was conducted by the first author, and identification of Crotonioidea (representatives of Nothridae and Camisiidae families) was conducted by the last author based on monograph Olszanowski [19]. The taxonomy of studied groups of Oribatid mites was based, respectively, on monographs of Niedbała [20] and Olszanowski [19]. The extracted specimens were then stored in Eppendorf tubes filled with c. 75% ethanol. The preserved samples were stored in the Natural History Collections (Faculty of Biology) at Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) in Poznań.

2.3. Data Analysis Methods

The structure of the analyzed Oribatida communities found in the area of BTNP and in the examined habitats within the park was characterized by the index of dominance (D) and frequency of occurrence (F). The scale has the following classes. Dominance: D5—eudominants (>30.0%), D4—dominants (15.1–30.0%), D3—subdominants (7.1–15.0%), D2—recedents (3.0–7.0%), and D1—subrecedents (<3.0%); frequency: F5—euconstants (>50.0%), F4—constants (30.1–50.0%), F3—subconstants (15.1–30.0%), F2—accessory species (5.0–15.0%), and F1—accidents (<5.0%) [43]. The data were stored in the Analizator 2.0 computer database (Invertebrate Fauna Bank) in the Natural History Collections (Faculty of Biology) at AMU.

The community similarity of the species composition for ptyctimous mites in 12 national parks in Poland and communities of studied Oribatid mites found in different types of habitats in BTNP was calculated by means of the Marczewski–Steinhaus species similarity index: S = c/(a + b − c), where c is the number of species present in both compared communities, and a and b stand for the total numbers of species in each community. The full joining analysis, which uses the most distant neighbors, was used to prepare the dendrogram [44]. The maps of the spatial distribution of the examined plots and particular ptyctimous mites and Crotonioidea species found in the area of BTNP are original and generated with Corel Draw 2020 computer graphics software.

3. Results

3.1. Species Composition and Community Structure of Oribatid Mites of BTNP

The analysis of the collected material focuses only on Oribatida species from Nothridae and Camisidae families, as well as ptyctimous mites, which were represented by a total of 12,163 specimens.

3.1.1. Community Structure of Crotonioidea

In 257 out of 285 samples collected from various environments and microhabitats in BTNP, 8 species of Crotonioidea were found, which were in the total of 4689 specimens. The family Camisiidae was represented by five species. The eudominant species was Heminothrus peltifer (Table 1), which constituted 66% of the community, and it was recorded in over 44% of the analyzed samples. The dominant species was Nothrus anauniensis from the family Nothridae, which constituted 22% of the whole community and was found in one-third of the analyzed samples. In total, these two species made up 88.3% of the entire community. The least numerous species in the community were represented by three species from the family Camisiide. Among these, Camisia biurus and Camisia segnis were almost equally numerous and occurred with similar frequency. The rarest and least numerous species was Camisia horrida.

3.1.2. Community Structure of Ptyctimous Mites

The ptyctimous mite community was much more diverse as to the found species since 21 species from this group of mites were recorded in the analyzed samples collected in BTNP, with a total of 7474 specimens (Table 2).

The dominant species in the examined community were Atropacarus (Atropacarus) striculus and Microtritia minima, which constituted 28.5% and 16.4% of the community, respectively, with the former being much more frequent, occurring in over 30% of the analyzed samples. Slightly less numerous than M. minima but more frequent in the analyzed material was S. (T.) carinatus (D = 14.2% and F = 23.4%). Moreover, in the park area, Phthiracarus longulus (F = 39.3%), Acrotritia ardua (F = 26.1%), and Euphthiracarus cribrarius (F = 15.6%) were quite commonly found, although the dominance index of none of these species exceeds 15%.

3.2. Spatial Distribution of Oribatida in BTNP

3.2.1. Distribution of Crotonioidea

The habitats of the two most common species among Nothroidea, namely, H. peltifer and N. anauniensis, are quite evenly distributed throughout the area of BTNP (Figure 2A,B). Nothrus silvestris is slightly less common in the park, with its habitats mainly concentrated in the central and southern parts (Figure 2C). Among the species from the genus Camisia, which was much rarer and less numerous (Table 1), C. segnis turned out to be the most common species in BTNP, found in 14 habitats mainly in the northern, central, and southwestern parts of the park (Figure 2D). On the other hand, the rare species of Nothroidae in Poland, N. pratensis, has so far been recorded only in the southern and central parts of the park (Figure 3B). Heminothrus targionii (Figure 3C) and the other two species from the genus Camisia (Figure 3A,D) were also rarely found in the area of BTNP.

3.2.2. Distribution of Ptyctimous Mites

Among the species of ptyctimous mites, the most common were P. longulus, A. (A.) striculus, A. ardua, and S. (T.) carinatus (Figure 4). The first three species had the widest spatial distribution in the examined area, and they were found at several dozen sites in various parts of the park (Figure 4A–C), while S. (T.) carinatus was mainly found at the sites located in the central, southeastern, and eastern parts of the park (Figure 4D). Similar distributions have been also observed for Phthiracarus nitens, E. cribrarius, Acrotritia duplicata, and Phthiracarus laevigatus (Figure 5). The first three of these (Figure 5A–C) were found at over 20 sites each, and they were found in various parts of the park, while P. laevigatus was found at several sites, mainly in the central and southern parts of the park (Figure 5D). Interestingly, although these species were fairly common in the park, they occurred in a low number in the collected material (Table 2). Microtritia minima was also found at 20 sites, mainly along a strip running from north to south through the central part and the southern part of the park (Figure 6A). Phthiracarus globosus was found in the same number of examined sites (19), but they were mainly located in the eastern and southeastern parts of BTNP (Figure 6B). The two other species from the genus Phthiracarus, namely, P. crinitus and P. clavatus, were found in 10 and 8 sites, respectively, and they were recorded in the central, western, and southern parts of the park (Figure 6C,D). The other species, namely, Phthiracarus bryobius (Figure 7A), Phthiracarus ferrugineus (Figure 7B), Phthiracarus boresetosus (Figure 7C), Steganacarus (Steganacarus) magnus (Figure 7D), Euphthiracarus monodactylus (Figure 8A), Atropacarus (Atropacarus) csiszarae (Figure 8B), and M. (P.) pulchra (Figure 8C), were only found in few (from seven to two) locations in the park. However, Mesotritia nuda (Figure 8D) and Phthiracarus anonymus (Figure 9) were found in one location in the western part of BTNP.

3.3. Community Structure of the Studied Oribatid Mites in Different Types of Habitats in BTNP

3.3.1. Pine Forest Habitats

In different types of pine forest habitats (dry forest, fresh forest, moist forest, and swamp forest), 103 samples were collected. In this material, the presence of 25 species from the analyzed groups of Oribatid mites was recorded, with a total of 4309 specimens (Table 3). The most numerous in this community were H. peltifer, N. anauniensis, and M. minima. However, the most frequently found species was P. longulus, which occurred in almost 44% of the collected samples but in a very low number (D = 5.29%). Atropacarus (A.) striculus and S. (T.) carinatus were also among the species with a high frequency in the pine forest community (F > 24%).

3.3.2. Transformed Alder Forests

In this type of habitat, 36 samples were collected, which contained 22 Oribatid species with a total of 2025 specimens (Table 4).

The most abundant species in this type of environment was M. minima, although with a fairly low frequency in the analyzed samples (F = 13.9%). The second most abundant species was A. striculus, which appeared in one-third of the samples collected in this type of habitat. The most frequently found moss mites in the transformed alder forests were H. peltifer and P. longulus (F = 41.7%).

3.3.3. Alder Forests

In the alder forests in the area of BTNP, 28 samples were collected, in which the presence of 24 species of moss mites was recorded, with a total of 2369 specimens (Table 5).

The most numerous and frequently found species in this type of habitat was H. peltifer (D = 35.7%, F = 71.4%). Atropacarus (A.) striculus was also quite numerous (D = 20.8%) and occurred very frequently (F = 53.6%). Phthiracarus longulus also turned out to be a very common species and was found in half of the collected samples in alder forests.

3.3.4. Peatbogs

In the peat bogs areas, 14 samples were collected, in which 18 species of moss mites were recorded, with a total of 996 specimens (Table 6). More than half of the population in this type of habitat was formed by A. striculus, which was also very frequent (F = 64.3%). However, the most frequently found species, occurring in over 70% of the collected samples, was H. peltifer, although it was very scarce (D = 8.3%). Moreover, species like P. longulus, N. anauniensis, A. duplicata, and C. biurus were moderately frequent (F = 20–30%) but not numerous in this group.

3.3.5. Meadows

In the examined meadows, 28 samples were collected, in which 16 species of moss mites were recorded, with a total of 1179 specimens (Table 7). The most numerous species in this type of habitat were H. peltifer and A. striculus, which both constituted 61% of the population, with H. peltifer also being very frequent, with a frequency of 57%. Furthermore, species like N. silvestris, P. longulus, and S. (T.) carinatus were also common in this type of habitat (F about 30%), but their number did not exceed 10% of the whole community.

3.3.6. Inland Dunes

In the inland dunes within the park, 24 samples were collected, in which 14 species of moss mites were recorded, with a total of 411 specimens (Table 8).

The most abundant species on the examined dunes was P. longulus (D = 26.3%). The second most numerous species was H. peltifer, which occurred very abundantly in only one sample. The most frequently occurring species, but in a low number (D = 8.5%) in the collected samples, was N. anauniensis (F = 33.3%).

3.3.7. Reeds

In this type of habitat, 23 samples were collected, where 11 species of Oribatid mites were recorded, with a total of 560 specimens (Table 9).

The most numerous and frequently occurring species in this type of habitat was H. peltifer (D and F > 60%). The other species occurred much less frequently and in a smaller number; only the frequency of A. striculus exceeded 30%, and S. (T.) carinatus and N. silvestris were found in about 1/5 of the collected samples.

3.4. Comparison of Species Composition of Examined Oribatid Mite Communities in BTNP

Table 10 shows the habitat preferences of the found Oribatid mite species for specific types of habitats examined in the area of BTNP with their respective ecotype categories. The species found in all types of the examined habitats were classified as eurytopic (E), whereas the species found only in one environment were classified as stenotopic (S). Other categories were also discerned based on the number of inhabited habitats in the park: eurytopic > 6 habitats, politopic—6 habitats, mesotopic—4–5 habitats, oligotopic—2–3 habitats, stenotopic—1 habitat [45].

Comparing the Oribatida communities of all analyzed types of habitat in the area of BTNP, it can be stated that the highest number of species (25) was recorded in the samples from the forests (Table 10), whereas the lowest was recorded in the samples collected on dunes (14) and in areas with reeds (11). The data show that the stenotopic species clearly preferred forest areas as their habitat. Among these species, there was M. (P.) pulchra, which was found exclusively in pine forests, as well as E. monodactylus and P. anonymus, found in the samples from alder forests. The other species were found in at least two of the examined types of habitat. As the analysis of the percentage of the discerned ecotype categories among Oribatid mites shows, the species with a broad ecological valence, which are capable of inhabiting various habitats without a clear preference for any of them, predominate in the analyzed material. The steno- and oligotopic species, which prefer a specific type of habitat, constitute 31% of all species in the examined community (Figure 10).

The analysis of the species composition similarity in the seven types of scrutinized habitat revealed that the highest similarity can be observed among the communities of the three types of forest habitats (Figure 11A–C). The most similar were the pine forests and transformed alder forests (S = 84%). The community inhabiting the alder forests is also similar to above-mentioned habitats (S = 80%). The open habitats—that is, meadows and reeds—exhibited a distinctly different species composition from the rest of the analyzed communities (the S index in referring to the first group of habitats ranged from 38 to 55%).

3.5. Importance of Merocenoses in Shaping the Biodiversity of Oribatid Mite Communities in BTNP

As has been said above that the material for the analysis collected in the area of BTNP comes mainly from dead wood and anthills.

In the examined merocenoses, 15 species of Oribatid mites were found, where E. cribrarius was the most abundant species (D = 27.2%), occurring in one-third of the collected samples (F = 33.3%) (Table 11). The next most numerous species was M. minima (D = 15.9%), which was found in scrutinized merocenoses as frequently as the previous species. However, the most frequently occurring Oribatid mite species in the examined microhabitats was P. longulus (F = 40.7%). Among the species of Crotonioidea, only three species were found very rarely and with low abundance—that is, N. anauniensis, H. peltifer, and C. horrida.

3.6. Fauna of Ptyctimous Mites in BTNP in Comparison to Other National Parks in Poland

The state of research into the fauna of ptyctimous mites in national parks differs. Out of the 23 existing national parks in Poland, only 12 were included in the analysis due to the number of ptyctimous species found in them (based on data from the Invertebrate Fauna Bank). The state of knowledge about Crotonioidea is poorer, which is why only ptyctimous mites have been used in this analysis. Some national parks have not been examined in this respect at all so far, while in others, only a few species have been found (Figure 12). The most diverse park in terms of species diversity is obviously Białowieża NP (24 species). Currently, BTNP is the second in terms of the number of ptyctimous mite species found within its area (21 species).

The ptyctimous mite community of Bory Tucholskie NP is most similar in species composition to that of Białowieża NP (S = 85.7%). The community of Wolin NP is also similar in this respect to these two, especially to the BTNP community, with a value of 71.4%. The next clade includes Świętokrzyski, Karkonoski, and Słowiński NPs. The communities of Wielkopolski and Tatra NPs differed the most in their species composition from the other parks (Figure 13).

4. Discussion

Oribatid mites are one of the most numerous and morphologically and systematically diverse groups of mites, with over 500 species recorded in Poland so far [30,46]. To date, only one study has been published on this group of mites in the area of BTNP [15]. An inventory of these mites in unpublished materials can also be found in an M.A. thesis by B. Norek [16], supervised by Prof. S. Seniczak. In the examined areas, the presence of 56 taxa from the order Oribatida was recorded, out of which 46 were identified at the level of species. As for the groups included in this study, i.e., Crotonioidea mites and ptyctimous mites, only four species were previously mentioned in the above publications, i.e., Nothrus silvestris, Camisia spinifer, Microtritia minima, and Acrotritia duplicata. Thus, the discussed studies supplemented the list of Oribatida known from BTNP with 25 new species, and the comprehensive list of the species from this group of mites recorded in this national park currently contains 71 species.

In the ptyctimous mites community found in the area of BTNP, A. (A.) striculus, M. minima, S. (T.) carinatus, and P. longulus were the dominant species (Table 2). Three of them are considered common and frequently found in Poland. Only M. minima is a fairly rare and scarce species in the area of Poland. These species usually prefer different types of mixed and deciduous forests [20,23]. Regarding the mite community of Crotonioidea, it was dominated by species from the Camisiidae family (five out of eight recorded species), which outnumbered the species from the Nothridae family both in terms of the frequency and their abundance (Table 1). The two species that dominated the community, H. peltifer and N. anauniensis, are common and numerous species in the fauna of nothrid mites in Poland, occurring in various types of habitats, including forests [19]. These common and frequent Oribatid mite species were found in most of the examined sites in BTNP, while those sporadic species were found only in a few locations, sometimes only in one plot.

The analysis of habitat preferences of scrutinized Oribatida has revealed that almost 70% of the recorded species do not exhibit any specific habitat preferences in the examined areas of BTNP. Only three species, namely, M. (P.) pulchra, which was recorded in pine forests; E. monodactylus; and P. anonymus, found only in alder forests, can be classified as stenotopic in BTNP. The first of these is a common and very numerous ptyctimous species in Poland, preferring forest habitats [20]. Mesoplophora (P.) pulchra is a rare and not very numerous species recorded in dead wood in Białowieża NP [23]. However, in the discussed studies, the species was not recorded in this microhabitat (Table 11). Phthiracarus anonymus is also a very rare species in Poland, previously recorded in a few locations in the west and southwest of Poland [20]. In the area of BTNP, it was found only in one place in an alder forest in the western part of the park (Table 5, Figure 9). The fact that most of the Oribatid mite species discussed here do not have any distinct preferences for specific habitats is also proved by the dominance structure and frequency in the examined communities found in the different types of environments.

In the analyzed communities, many species show high and very high frequency with low abundance at the same time. This can be observed, for example, in the case of the species A. ardua occurring in pine forests (D = 6.7%, F = 30.1%); N. anauniensis (D = 5.9%, F = 33.3%), and E. cribrarius (D = 3.3%, F = 30.6%) in transformed alder forests; or N. silvestris (D = 4.9%, F = 46.4) and P. longulus (D = 4%, F = 50%) found in alder forests. This dominance pattern is very different from what has been observed, for example, in the case of mite communities from the suborder Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata). Uropodina is a group of mites well-known in terms of their habitat requirements and species diversity of communities occurring in national parks and nature reserves in Poland [10,32,34,38,47,48,49]. These mites exhibit certain habitat preferences and a much narrower range of ecological tolerance (nearly 70% of the species found in Poland are steno- and oligobionts) [43]. This difference in the community structure is especially evident in the case of these mites in merocenoses, where in the case of Uropodina, microhabitats attract characteristic species, which are often also the most numerous species in a given type of microhabitat. They are often so numerous that only one or two species constitute over 50% of the entire community [50]. In the case of the discussed Oribatid mite communities inhabiting unstable microhabitats, the situation is different. All Oribatid mite species occurring in such microhabitats were also found in the soil of the examined habitats (Table 1 and Table 2), and none of the species was eudominant in this community (Table 11). This also confirms the earlier observations from Białowieża NP [23] that Oribatid mites are less selective in terms of habitat and choose soil and various types of merocenoses; in this case, it was dead wood, to a similar extent. Thus, it can be stated that in the case of Oribatid mites, including microhabitats in the research conducted in BTNP did not increase the species diversity of the communities from this group of mites, but it only increased their abundance. It is also noteworthy that different research results that were obtained for Uropodina mites, taking into account the material collected from both dead wood and bird nest boxes in the analysis, resulted in an increase in the number of species, including rare species [17,18].

It has been shown in a number of studies conducted on Uropodina in legally protected and non-protected areas in Wielkopolska [49] that legally protected areas (such as Wielkopolski NP and nature reserves in Wielkopolska), which constitute together only 2% of this region, protect as much as 80% of these mites known from Poland. The results obtained for the moss mites analyzed in this study also demonstrated the significant role of BTNP in protecting their biodiversity. Niedbała [20], in his monograph on ptyctimous mites in Poland, based on 869 samples, listed 40 species from this group in a total of 22,654 specimens. A few years ago, another new species from this group, named Phthiracarus paraferrugineus, found in Cisy Staropolskie in the Leona Wyczółkowskiego reserve in Wierzchlas, was described [21]. Thus, the number of mite species belonging to this group in Poland is now 41. This means that 21 species, or 51% of all known ptyctimous mites found in Poland, are protected in the area of BTNP. This number is also similar to the number of ptyctimous mite species found in Białowieża NP [23], an area exceptional in terms of its natural value [51]. A similar situation can be observed in the case of the second group of moss mites discussed here, i.e., Crotonioidea. Olszanowski [19], in his monograph on Nothridae and Camisiidae of Poland, based on 3342 samples, reported 20 species of these mites, giving a total of 29,963 specimens. So far, eight species have been found in BTNP, which constitutes 40% of all species recorded in Poland. These observations confirm the importance of this “young” national park in protecting the biodiversity of this group of mites since nearly half of the known Crotonioidea species and more than half of the ptyctimous mites found so far in Poland occur on 46.13 km² of BTNP area (which constitutes 0.01% of the whole area of Poland).

5. Conclusions

Legally protected areas (i.e., national parks and nature reserves), due to limiting potentially threatening anthropogenic impacts within their boundaries, have become nature enclaves for the diverse invertebrate fauna. Both the studies discussed here and many previous publications have shown that although they cover a small part of the country, a significant percentage of the invertebrate species found in Poland, including soil fauna, occur in such places [47,49,52]. Thus, it is very important to regularly collect soil samples and samples from various types of merocenoses in national parks and nature reserves. For some locations, such studies will be, in fact, the first faunistic research ever conducted therein; as mentioned above, not all national parks, not to mention nature reserves, have a faunistic inventory that lists various groups of soil fauna. Studies like this are necessary to monitor changes in the species composition, abundance, and community structure of various groups of invertebrates inhabiting soil and different merocenoses.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, J.B.; Methodology, J.B.; Software, J.B.; Validation, J.B.; Formal Analysis, A.N. and J.B.; Investigation, J.B., J.W., K.L. and W.N.; Resources, J.B., M.K. and A.N.; Data Curation, J.B.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, A.N., J.B., J.W., K.L., M.K. and W.N.; Writing—Review and Editing, J.W., M.K. and A.N.; Visualization, K.L. and J.B.; Supervision, J.B.; Project Administration, A.N. and J.B.; Funding Acquisition, A.N. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was financially supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature—IUCN (Grant number SMA-G00-GG-0000000779). Agnieszka Napierała was granted research support.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data presented in this study are stored in a computer database called AMUNATCOLL.

Acknowledgments

The authors of the article would like to thank the management staff of Bory Tucholskie National Park (consent for research of the Ministry of Environment and Climate No. DOP-WOPPN.61.118.2023.MŚP).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Figure 1. Distribution of examined plots (black dots) in the area of Bory Tucholskie National Park and localization of the national park (green dot). Blue parts—water tanks.

Figure 2. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Heminothrus peltifer, (B) Nothrus anauniensis; (C) Nothrus silvestris, and (D) Camisia segnis, against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 3. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Camisia biurus, (B) Nothrus pratensis, (C) Heminothrus targionii, and (D) Camisia horrida, against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 4. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Phthiracarus longulus, (B) Atropacarus (Atropacarus) striculus, (C) Acrotritia ardua, and (D) Steganacarus (Tropacarus) carinatus against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 5. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Phthiracarus nitens, (B) Euphthiracarus cribrarius, (C) Acrotritia duplicata, and (D) Phthiracarus laevigatus against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 6. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Microtritia minima, (B) Phthiracarus globosus, (C) Phthiracarus crinitus, and (D) Phthiracarus clavatus, against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 7. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Phthiracarus bryobius, (B) Phthiracarus ferrugineus, (C) Phthiracarus boresetosus, and (D) Steganacarus (Steganacarus) magnus, against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 8. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): (A) Euphthiracarus monodactylus, (B) Atropacarus (Atropacarus) csiszarae, (C) Mesoplophora (Parplophora) pulchra, and (D) Mesotritia nuda, against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 9. Spatial distribution in BTNP (black dots): Phthiracarus anonymus, against all examined plots (white dots).

Figure 10. Percentage of species assigned to discerned ecotypes: E—eurytopic, P—politopic, M—mesotopic, O—oligotopic, S—stenotopic.

Figure 11. Similarities in species composition in different types of habitat: A—alder forest, B—pine forests, C—transformed alder forests, D—peatlands, E—meadows, F—inland dunes, G—reeds.

Figure 12. Number of ptyctimous mites recorded in national parks (NP) in Poland: BIA—Białowieża NP, BTU—Bory Tucholskie NP, GOR—Gorczański NP, KAR—Karkonoski NP, OJC—Ojcowski NP, PIE—Pieniński PN, ROZ—Roztoczański NP, SŁO—Słowiński NP, ŚWI—Świętokrzyski NP, TAT—Tatrzański NP, WLK—Wielkopolski NP, WOL—Woliński NP.

Figure 13. Similarities in species composition (S) in communities of ptyctimous mites in selected national parks (NP) in Poland: BTU—Bory Tucholskie NP, BIA—Białowieża NP, WOL—Woliński NP, ŚWI—Świętokrzyski NP, KAR—Karkonoski NP, SŁO—Słowiński NP, ROZ—Roztoczański NP, GOR—Gorczański NP, PIE—Pieniński NP, OJC—Ojcowski NP, WLK—Wielkopolski NP, TAT—Tatrzański NP.

Table 1. Species composition and community structure of Crotonioidea: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
Heminothrus peltifer (C. L. Koch, 1839)	3113	66.4	44.8	27.1 ± 41.7
Nothrus anauniensis Canestrini & Fanzago, 1877	1029	21.9	30.3	13.2 ± 21.1
Nothrus silvestris Nicolet, 1855	279	6.0	3.9	6.3 ± 9.7
Heminothrus targionii (Berlese, 1885)	101	2.2	3.9	10.1 ± 12.8
Nothrus pratensis Sellnick, 1928	92	2.0	3.9	9.2 ± 12.0
Camisia segnis (Hermann, 1804)	34	0.7	7.0	1.9 ± 1.4
Camisia biurus (C. L. Koch, 1839)	30	0.6	5.8	2.0 ± 2.1
Camisia horrida (Hermann, 1804)	11	0.2	1.6	2.8 ± 3.5
Total	4689

Table 2. Species composition and community structure of ptyctimous mites: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
Atropacarus (Atropacarus) striculus (C. L. Koch, 1835)	2132	28.5	30.7	27.0 ± 49.0
Microtritia minima (Berlese, 1904)	1229	16.4	10.9	43.9 ± 116.6
Steganacarus (Tropacarus) carinatus (C. L. Koch, 1841)	1063	14.2	23.4	17.7 ± 29.6
Phthiracarus longulus (C. L. Koch, 1841)	817	10.9	39.3	8.1 ± 13.4
Acrotritia ardua (C. L. Koch, 1841)	616	8.2	26.1	9.2 ± 19.8
Euphthiracarus cribrarius (Berlese, 1904)	509	6.8	15.6	12.7 ± 17.3
Acrotritia duplicata (Grandjean, 1953)	201	2.7	13.6	5.7 ± 5.4
Phthiracarus laevigatus (C. L. Koch, 1841)	189	2.5	10.9	6.8 ± 7.5
Phthiracarus nitens (Nicolet, 1855)	180	2.4	16.7	4.1 ± 4.6
Phthiracarus crinitus (C. L. Koch, 1841)	117	1.6	5.1	9.0 ± 10.6
Phthiracarus globosus (C. L. Koch, 1841)	87	1.2	7.3	4.6 ± 5.6
Mesoplophora (Parplophora) pulchra (Sellnick, 1928)	84	1.1	0.8	42.0 ± 53.7
Phthiracarus boresetosus (Jacot, 1930)	79	0.8	2.3	13.2 ± 11.7
Phthiracarus clavatus (Parry, 1979)	54	0.7	3.5	6.0 ± 9.6
Mesotritia nuda (Berlese, 1887)	31	0.4	0.8	15.5 ± 20.5
Phthiracarus bryobius (Jacot, 1930)	31	0.6	3.5	3.9 ± 4.5
Phthiracarus ferrugineus (C. L. Koch, 1841)	30	0.4	2.0	3.9 ± 5.7
Euphthiracarus monodactylus (Willmann, 1919)	13	0.2	1.2	4.3 ± 2.5
Steganacarus (Steganacarus) magnus (Nicolet, 1855)	9	0.1	0.8	4.5 ± 0.7
Atropacarus (Atropacarus) csiszarae (Balogh et Mahunka, 1979)	2	<0.1	0.8	1.0
Phthiracarus anonymus Grandjean, 1933	1	<0.1	0.4	1.0
Total	7474

Table 3. Oribatid mite community in pine forest habitats in BTNP: N—numbers of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
H. peltifer	951	22.1	35.9	25.7 ± 44.8
N. anauniensis	724	16.8	38.8	18.1 ± 27.1
M. minima	616	14.3	20.4	29.3 ± 85.7
A. striculus	368	8.5	24.3	14.7 ± 23.9
E. cribrarius	360	8.4	17.5	20.0 ± 22.9
S.(T.) carinatus	302	7	24.3	12.1 ± 14.6
A. ardua	288	6.7	30.1	9.3 ± 11.4
P. longulus	228	5.3	43.7	5.1 ± 6.4
A. duplicata	122	2.8	19.4	6.1 ± 6.3
M. (P.) pulchra	84	2	1.9	42.0 ± 53.7
P. nitens	74	1.7	17.5	4.1 ± 3.8
P. laevigatus	45	1	6.8	6.4 ± 11.4
P. boresetosus	33	0.1	3.9	8.3 ± 11.3
N. pratensis	31	0.1	2.9	10.3 ± 8.1
C. biurus	17	0.4	6.8	2.4 ± 3.0
P. clavatus	17	0.4	4.9	3.4 ± 2.4
N. silvestris	13	0.3	2.9	4.3 ± 2.3
C. segnis	8	0.2	5.8	1.3 ± 0.5
P. bryobius	7	0.2	4.9	1.4 ± 0.5
P. crinitus	7	0.2	1.9	3.5 ± 3.5
P. ferrugineus	6	0.1	0.1	6
H. targionii	3	0.01	0.1	3
C. horrida	2	0.1	1.1	1
P. globosus	2	0.1	1.1	1
A. (A.) ciszarae	1	<0.1	0.1	1
Total	4309

Table 4. Oribatid mite community in transformed alder forests in BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
M. minima	538	26.6	13.9	107.6 ± 219.7
A. striculus	427	21.1	33.3	35.6 ± 72. 7
S. (T.) carinatus	299	14.8	27.8	29.9 ± 60.4
H. peltifer	219	10.8	41.7	14.6 ± 23.9
P. longulus	205	10.1	41.7	13.7 ± 28.0
N. anauniensis	119	5.9	33.3	9.9 ± 8.3
E. cribrarius	66	3.3	30.6	6.0 ± 7.2
P. globosus	33	1.6	8.3	11.0 ± 11.3
A. duplicata	25	1.2	16.7	4.2 ± 2.6
P. laevigatus	22	1.1	16.7	3.7 ± 3.7
P. nitens	22	1.1	16.7	3.7 ± 2.3
N. silvestris	20	0.1	22.2	2.5 ± 2.7
A. ardua	9	0.4	13.9	1.8 ± 0.8
C. segnis	8	0.4	11.1	2.0 ± 1.4
P. clavatus	4	0.2	5.6	2.0 ± 1.4
P. crinitus	2	0.1	2.8	2
P. ferrugineus	2	0.1	5.6	1
N. pratensis	1	0.1	2.8	1
H. targionii	1	0.1	2.8	1
C. biurus	1	0.1	2.8	1
A. (A.) ciszarae	1	0.1	2.8	1
M. nuda	1	0.1	2.8	1
Total	2025

Table 5. Oribatid mite community in alder forests in BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
H. peltifer	846	35.7	71.4	42.3 ± 42.3
A. striculus	493	20.8	53.6	32.9 ± 49.4
S. (T.) carinatus	226	9.5	28.6	28.2 ± 27.9
N. silvestris	117	4.9	46.4	9.0 ± 11.1
P. longulus	95	4.1	50	6.8 ± 4.9
P. crinitus	86	3.6	17.9	17.2 ± 13.8
H. targionii	79	3.3	21.4	13.2 ± 15.4
M. minima	70	3	3.6	70
P. laevigatus	70	3	25	10.0 ± 6.1
E. cribrarius	52	2.2	21.4	8.8 ± 10.4
N. anauniensis	38	1.6	28.6	4.7 ± 4.9
M. nuda	30	1.3	3.6	30
A. ardua	28	1.2	21.4	4.7 ± 4.6
P. nitens	27	1.1	28.6	3.4 ± 5.2
P. boresetosus	21	0.9	3.6	21
N. pratensis	17	0.7	7.1	8.5 ± 9.2
P. ferrugineus	15	0.6	3.6	15
A. duplicata	14	0.6	7.1	7.0 ± 5.7
P. bryobius	13	0.6	3.6	13
P. globosus	11	0.5	14.3	2.7 ± 2.9
E. monodactylus	9	0.4	7.1	4.5 ± 3.5
C. segnis	6	0.3	7.1	3.0 ± 2.8
S. (S.) magnus	5	0.2	3.6	5
P. anonymus	1	<0.1	3.6	1
Total	2369

Table 6. Oribatid mite community in peatlands in BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
A. striculus	505	50.7	64.3	56.1 ± 83.1
A. ardua	214	21.5	42.9	35.7 ± 57.4
H. peltifer	83	8.3	71.4	8.3 ± 7.6
S. (T.) carinatus	35	3.5	14.3	17.5 ± 2.1
P. clavatus	31	3.1	7.1	31
P. longulus	29	2.9	28.6	7.2 ± 7.1
N. anauniensis	28	2.8	21.4	9.3 ± 8.4
A. duplicata	18	1.8	28.6	4.5 ± 4.0
P. bryobius	11	1.1	14.3	5.5 ± 4.9
C. biurus	8	0.8	21.4	2.7 ± 0.6
E. cribrarius	7	0.7	7.1	7
P. ferrugineus	7	0.7	7.1	7
C. segnis	6	0.6	14.3	3.0 ± 2.8
N. silvestris	4	0.4	14.3	2.0 ± 1.4
S. (S.) magnus	4	0.4	7.1	4
N. pratensis	2	0.2	7.1	2
P. globosus	2	0.2	7.1	2
P. nitens	2	0.2	14.3	1
Total	996

Table 7. Oribatid mite community in meadows BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
H. peltifer	513	43.5	57.1	32.1 ± 62.2
A. striculus	211	17.9	32.1	23.4 ± 35.3
N. silvestris	102	8.7	35.7	10.2 ± 14.9
P. longulus	86	7.2	32.1	9.6 ± 12.6
S. (T.) carinatus	84	7.1	28.6	10.5 ± 13.9
N. pratensis	38	3.2	3.6	38
P. boresetosus	25	2.1	3.6	25
P. nitens	19	1.6	14.3	4.7 ± 7.5
H. targionii	18	1.5	7.1	9.0 ± 9.9
P. globosus	18	1.5	14.3	4.5 ± 3.3
P. laevigatus	18	1.5	14.3	4.5 ± 5.1
E. cribrarius	16	1.4	10.7	5.3 ± 2.3
N. anauniensis	11	0.9	10.7	3.7 ± 4.6
A. ardua	10	0.9	25	1.4 ± 0.8
P. crinitus	9	0.8	7.1	4.5 ± 3.5
A. duplicata	1	0.1	3.6	1
Total	1179

Table 8. Oribatid mite community on inland dunes in BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
P. longulus	108	26.3	29.2	15.4 ± 17.3
H. peltifer	102	24.8	4.2	102
S. (T.) carinatus	70	17	4.2	70
A. ardua	36	8.8	25	6.0 ± 1.8
N. anauniensis	35	8.5	33.3	4.4 ± 4.0
P. nitens	20	4.9	4.2	20
C. horrida	9	2.2	8.3	4.5 ± 4.9
C. segnis	6	1.5	16.7	1.5 ± 1.0
A. duplicata	6	1.5	4.2	6
M. minima	5	1.2	4.2	5
P. crinitus	5	1.2	4.2	5
C. biurus	4	0.1	16.7	1
P. globosus	4	0.1	4.2	4
N. pratensis	1	0.2	4.2	1
Total	411

Table 9. Oribatid mite community in reed areas in BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
H. peltifer	344	61.4	60.9	24.6 ± 24.1
A. striculus	84	15	30.4	12.0 ± 10.8
S. (T.) carinatus	36	6.4	21.7	7.2 ± 4.6
P. longulus	25	4.5	17.4	6.3 ± 6.4
A. ardua	21	3.8	13	7.0 ± 4.0
P. globosus	17	3	17.4	4.3 ± 5.2
P. nitens	15	2.7	13	5.0 ± 5.3
N. silvestris	9	1.6	21.7	1.8 ± 1.3
P. laevigatus	5	0.1	8.7	2.5 ± 0.7
N. pratensis	2	0	4.4	2
P. clavatus	2	0.4	4.4	2
Total	560

Table 10. Occurrence of examined Oribatid species (+) in selected habitats in BTNP: A—pine forests, B—alder forests, C—transformed alder forests, D—peat bogs, E—meadows, F—inland dunes, G—reeds; discerned ecotypes: E—eurytopic, P—politopic, M—mesotopic, O—oligotopic, S—stenotopic.

Species	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	Ecotype
H. peltifer	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
A. ardua	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
N. pratensis	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
P. globosus	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
P. longulus	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
P. nitens	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
S. (T.) carinatus	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	E
A. duplicata	+	+	+	+	+	+		P
A. striculus	+	+	+	+	+		+	P
N. silvestris	+	+	+	+	+		+	P
N. anauniensis	+	+	+	+	+	+		P
C. segnis	+	+	+	+		+		M
E. cribrarius	+	+	+	+	+			M
P. laevigatus	+	+	+		+		+	M
P. crinitus	+	+	+		+	+		M
C. biurus	+		+	+		+		M
H. targionii	+	+	+		+			M
M. minima	+	+	+			+		M
P. clavatus	+		+	+			+	M
P. ferrugineus	+	+	+	+				M
P. boresetosus	+	+			+			O
P. bryobius	+	+		+				O
C. horrida	+					+		O
A. (A.) ciszarae	+		+					O
M. nuda		+	+					O
S. (S.) magnus		+		+				O
M. (P.) pulchra	+							S
E. monodactylus		+						S
P. anonymus		+						S
Number of species	25	24	22	18	16	14	11

Table 11. Oribatid mite community in different merocenoses in BTNP: N—number of specimens, D%—dominance, F%—frequency, Ave. ± SD—average ± standard deviation.

Species	N	D%	F%	Ave. ± SD
E. cribrarius	159	27.2	33.3	17.6 ± 10.1
M. minima	93	15.9	33.3	10.3 ± 7.2
A. striculus	66	11.3	22.2	11.0 ± 19.1
P. longulus	60	10.3	40.7	5.5 ± 5.4
N. anauniensis	43	7.4	18.5	8.6 ± 9.2
P. laevigatus	32	5.5	3.7	32
A. ardua	28	4.8	25.9	4.0 ± 1.9
P. boresetosus	25	4.3	3.7	25
H. peltifer	20	3.4	11.1	6.7 ± 9.8
P. nitens	18	3.1	25.9	2.6 ± 1.7
S. (T.) carinatus	14	2.4	14.8	3.5 ± 3.3
P. crinitus	12	2.1	7.4	6.0 ± 7.1
P. clavatus	9	1.5	7.4	4.5 ± 2.1
P. globosus	5	0.9	3.7	5
C. horrida	1	0.2	3.7	1
Total	585

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Niedbała, W.; Napierała, A.; Wendzonka, J.; Lubińska, K.; Kulczak, M.; Błoszyk, J. Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland). Diversity 2024, 16, 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16110678

AMA Style

Niedbała W, Napierała A, Wendzonka J, Lubińska K, Kulczak M, Błoszyk J. Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland). Diversity. 2024; 16(11):678. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16110678

Chicago/Turabian Style

Niedbała, Wojciech, Agnieszka Napierała, Jacek Wendzonka, Karolina Lubińska, Marta Kulczak, and Jerzy Błoszyk. 2024. "Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland)" Diversity 16, no. 11: 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16110678

APA Style

Niedbała, W., Napierała, A., Wendzonka, J., Lubińska, K., Kulczak, M., & Błoszyk, J. (2024). Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland). Diversity, 16(11), 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16110678

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Species Diversity and Spatial Distribution of Some Oribatid Mites in Bory Tucholskie National Park (N Poland) †