Diversity and Ecology of the Acari
A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2878
Special Issue Editor
Interests: acarology; bioindicators; ecology; nature conservation; Uropodina mites; zoogeography
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
“Diversity” is a term that can aptly describe mites (Acari). This diversity has different dimensions. Firstly, ~63,000 mite species have already been described. However, based on the estimate number of 1,000,000 species globally, the number of known species is only a small fraction of the real diversity of these arthropods. It is supposed that the tropics are hotspots with a still unknown and extraordinary diversity of mites. This is confirmed by the fact that each year new species, genera and families are described from these regions. However, other areas of the world have also been insufficiently examined in this regard.
These little arthropods have already colonized almost all types of habitats. They can be found at any latitude, both in terrestrial and aquatic environments such as lakes, rivers, seas and oceans. As a result, they are also characterized by uniquely high morphological diversity, and different adaptation capabilities and life history strategies. Mites occur commonly in soil and humus, where they are the most numerous components of mesofauna and play a pivotal role in the process of humification. Many mite species are closely associated with other animals and plants, both as commensals and parasites, with which they form various close evolutionary correlations. Both free-living mites and those that are parasites are important elements of many ecosystems.
Mites have been the major research focus of many acarologists for a very long time. However, our knowledge about this group of organisms, regarding both their ecology and geographical distribution, is still obscure and fragmentary. The extent of our knowledge about mites varies between taxa, and the best-known species come from groups of high economic and health importance, such as parasites and pests. In the case of free-living mites, many species have been described on the basis of specimens from only one location, which may suggest their high endemism or the sparce occurrence of the species. On the other hand, the geographical range of occurrence of parasite mite species is directly dependent on the range of occurrence of the host organism. In such cases, the gradual extinction of the host species is a significant factor, which, in turn, often results in the extinction of the accompanying fauna, including parasitic mites. This phenomenon, in addition to the degradation of habitats, also leads to the loss of mite biodiversity.
This Special Issue, entitled “Diversity and Ecology of the Acari”, will present a brief review of the recent research in the field of acarology. We invite both original research and review papers that address the current research problems, as well as those that indicate research trends for the future.
Dr. Agnieszka Napierała
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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