Soil meso-fauna patterns and experiments on leaf litter mite fungivory: preferences, effects on fungal reproduction and decomposition

Acta zoológica mexicana

Villedo, Lorenzo¹  Nájera, Andrea¹  Guevara, Roger¹ 

[1] Instituto de Ecología, A.C, Jalapa, México

关键词: Community structure;    Fungivory;    Leaf litter fungi;    Oppidae;    Selective feeding;    Meso-fauna;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：动物科学

来源: ACTA ZOOLóGICA MEXICANA

【 摘 要 】

We investigated patterns of community structure of soil meso-fauna in an tropical cloud forest. The leaf litter habitat and the actual soil below were found to support structurally different communities. Leaf litter appeared to be a complex, heterogeneous, habitat whereas soil was homogeneous. The abundance of mites and collembolans marked the main differences between leaf litter and soil, and given that a large number of species of these taxa are fungivorous their distribution patterns are discussed in relation to those factors that may determine fungal activity. In microcosmos experiments we found that a fungivorous oppid mite (Oppidae) affected the spore production of four species of fungi suggesting a shift in their combative abilities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC