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Non-biting midges as hosts for water mite larvae in spring habitatsin Luxembourg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2009

E. Stur ,
P. Martin  and
T. Ekrem
E. Stur
Affiliation:
Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
P. Martin
Affiliation:
Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Zoologisches Institut (Department of Animal Ecology), Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
T. Ekrem
Affiliation:
Museum of Natural History and Archaeology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
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Abstract

This study focuses on the host-parasite relationships between species of non-biting midges (Diptera: Chironomidae) and watermites (Acari: Hydrachnidia) in seven springs in Luxembourg. Emergence traps were operated through the season, and identificationof the catches enabled an overview of species composition, abundance and host-parasite associations in the spring communities.Our results show that the Luxembourg springs have similar chironomid diversity to other springs in Europe, and thatparticular species are more often found in certain spring habitats. Furthermore, we show that prevalence of water mite parasitismis highly variable among the sampled chironomid hosts, and that there are several species which were not parasitized despitebeing numerous in our samples. The reasons for the latter observation are discussed, and most of the cases can be explainedby general unavailability of host or parasite, or life cycle incompatibility.

Keywords

ChironomidaeAcariabundancediversityparasitism
Type
Research Article
Information
Annales de Limnologie - International Journal of Limnology , Volume 41 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 225 - 236
Copyright
© Université Paul Sabatier, 2005

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