The diversity of water mite assemblages (Acari: Parasitengona: Hydrachnidia) of lake Skadar/Shkodra and its catchment area

Abstract

Water mites in the Lake Skadar catchment area inhabit a wide range of aquatic habitats, including lotic, lentic, interstitial, and temporary waters. Altogether 53 water mite species are known for Lake Skadar and its associated water bodies. The indicative feature of the water mite assemblage of Lake Skadar is the absence of water mites from a huge astatic zone of Lake Skadar and their poor representation in the shallow phytolittoral zone. It is very likely that this is caused by the fact that the fingerling of many commercial fish species in Lake Skadar and the mosquito fish and the topmouth gudgeon are present in a fairly large quantities in the flood plain inundated area and the phytolittoral zone of Lake Skadar. In addition, the following topics are addressed: (1) the diversity of water mites assemblages from spring habitats – the presence and share of crenobiontic species in the different spring types of the Lake Skadar catchment area; (2) the communities colonizing the running water and the interstitial habitats of the Lake Skadar catchment area, respectively, and their similarities and differences; and (3) the impact of seasonal intermittence on water mite assemblages.