The seasonal abundance of oribatid mites (Acari: Cryptostigmata) on an irrigated Kikuyu grass pasture
✍ Scribed by L. C. Nieuwenhuizen; A. J. M. Verster; I. G. Horak; R. C. Krecek; J. R. Grimbeek
- Book ID
- 104624074
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Year
- 1994
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 627 KB
- Volume
- 18
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0168-8162
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✦ Synopsis
The seasonal abundance of oribatid mites, the intermediate hosts of anoplocephalme cestodes, was studied on an imgated Kikuvu grass pasture in Transvaal, South Africa. The following species were consistently present: Gahtnma nuda. Galumna rasilis. Scheioribates el~i and Tectocepheus sarekensis.
The mean to~,al number of mites on the herbage peaked in January I3.7 mites g ~ dry herbage) and correlated i:~sitively with tcmpcramre, relative humidity, rainfall and soil moisture on the day of collection The mean total number of mites an the herbage including the top 5 cm of soil peaked in April (3.757 mites m -') and May 13.761 mites m -'), and these numbers correlaled positively wifll radiation on the dav of collection. There was a significant decline in the number ol' mites on the herbage at midday and m the aRermvon, but there was no difterencc in the number on the herbage including the top 5 cm of soil at different times of day'. Thc Irends in abundance arc also discussed separately for each of the four species.
INTROI) UCTION
Stunkard (1937) proved that oribatid mites wcrc the intermediate hosts of anoplocephaline cestodes bv~ feeding eo,,s~¢., of Moniezia expansa to Galumna spp. and subsequently recovering cysticercoids fiom the mites. It appears that any oribatid mite which is large enough to ingest thc cestodc egg, may act as an intermediate host (Sengbusch, 1977), and it is now known that 53 species of these mites may, transmit M. expansa and 31 species Moniezia benedeni (Narsapur, 1988).
The prevalence of these cestodes is therelore linked with the abundance of oribatid mites and this in turn is dependent on environmental factors. Oribatid mite