Water mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia) of water bodies of the Krąpiel River valley: interactions in the spatial arrangement of a river valley

Abstract

The present study is a discussion of the interactions between different types of water bodies in the spatial arrangement of a river valley, taking into account landscape data. The Hydrachnidia assemblages in particular types of valley water bodies (oxbows, riparian pools, permanent ponds, flooded alder carrs, sedge marshes, and springs) are strongly influenced by the spatial arrangement of the water bodies in the landscape. Moreover, the formation of a fauna in a particular type of valley water body is also influenced by its origin. For example, the faunas of the oxbow lakes and riparian pools would have many characteristics in common, as these two types of water body can be characterized as originating in the river. As many as 61 species common to the valley water bodies and the Krąpiel River were noted. In the interactions between the valley water bodies and the river, the direction of migration from the former to the latter was clearly predominant. Migration in the reverse direction, from the river to the valley water bodies, took place to a far lesser degree. CCA analysis of landscape variables showed the influences of certain landscape parameters on water mites. These should be regarded as indirect influences, but as a consequence of their effects, they influence the formation of specific types of Hydrachnidia assemblages.