Mite communities (Acari: Mesostigmata, Oribatida) in the red belt conk, Fomitopsis pinicola (Polyporales), in Polish forests.

ABSTRACT: The fruiting bodies of bracket fungi are a specific microhabitat colonized by various invertebrates of which mites (Acari) are rarely studied, and if they are, the study is usually faunistic. The aim of the research was to determine whether the diversification of mite assemblages (Mesostigmata, Oribatida) inhabiting the fruiting bodies of Fomitopsis pinicola (Sw.) P. Karst. (Polyporales) are connected with the character of the forests and/or the degree of decay (DD) of the fruiting bodies. The research was conducted at Białowieża National Park (BNP), in forests close to natural ones and in Karkonosze National Park (KNP) which was affected by a large-scale forest dieback in the 1980s. Eighty fruiting bodies (40 at each study site) of F. pinicola belonging to four DD categories were collecte

SUBMITTER: Gdula AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8257520 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature