Survey of mites (Acari: Trombidiformes: Prostigmata) associated with oak trees in Marivan

Acari subclass is uniqe in the Arachnida class which were aboundetly found in different ecosystems including agricaltural, forest and range. Some of them are phytophagous; some have parasitic and predatory behaviour. The role of mites in this regard should not be ignored because they, as a part of ecosystem, play a pivotal role regarding maintaining natural balance. The adaptation to different climatic conditions caused that mites can be found in each ecosystem. Among mites, Prostigmata mites have the most diversity. Prostigmatic mites is the major group of acari in the world. However, forests surfaces can be regarded as valuable source of genetic stock. Consequently, species diversity of Prostigmata mite associated oak trees in some regions of Marivan were performed during 2013-2015. For this purpose, sampling from 3 stations was done. Soil samples and aerial parts of plant were carried to laboratory. Using Berlese funnel and isolated Shaking Method, the samples were directly in Hoyer’s medium. In this study, 27 species belong to 14 genera from 9 families were identified and collected. Among them, there were only 3 species are herbivorous and the other 24 ones have predation activity.

Keywords:

Fauna , Prostigmata mite , Kurdistan , West of Iran