EJBR2019v9i4art245 ISSN 2449-8955 European Journal of Biological Research Research Article European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3534449 Soil mites (Acari) of natural areas of a former military training field in Olsztyn (Poland) M. Zduniak1, J. Błoszyk2,3, M. Nowak4, A. Napierała2* 1 Department of Systematic Zoology, Faculty of Biology AMU, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland 2 Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology AMU, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland 3 The Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology AMU, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland 4 Laboratory of Biological Spatial Information, Faculty of Biology, AMU, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland *Correspondence: Phone:+48618295847; E-mail: agan@amu.edu.pl Received: 29 August 2019; Revised submission: 17 October 2019; Accepted: 06 November 2019 http://www.journals.tmkarpinski.com/index.php/ejbr Copyright: © The Author(s) 2019. Licensee Joanna Bródka, Poland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) ABSTRACT: Due to restricted public access to military training fields such areas are quite interesting places for conducting faunistic research that would be simply impossible in other terrains. The area examined in the present study was the former military training field in Olsztyn, with the adjacent Lasek Pieczewski and the valley of Skanda Lake. The major aim of the study was to evaluate the current state of the environment in the terrain of the former military training field and the adjacent areas. In this study mites from the suborder Uropodina and cohort Labidostommatina (Acari: Mesostigmata et Prostigmata) were used as a bioindicators. These mites are useful for this purpose because of their specific habitat preferences. The community of mites in the area under scrutiny contained 23 taxa, comparing to 34 species found in whole voivoideship, which is 68% of local species biodiversity. Oodinychus ovalis turned out to be the most numerous species (the specimens of this species constituted almost 38% of the whole community and the frequency per sample was 55%). The other quite numerous species found in the examined area were Janetiella pulchella and Oodinychus karawaiewi, which constituted over 30% of the whole community. Taking into account the number of species and their habitat preferences two most valuable areas were found: southern part of Lasek Pieczewski and Skanda Lake valley. Keywords: Military training fields; Soil mites; Uropodina; Labidostommatina; Biodiversity; Monitoring. 1. INTRODUCTION Military training fields and areas adjacent to them due to restricted public access are interesting places, especially from the faunistic point of view, which in many cases have retained high biological diversity. Although such areas are often under intense anthropogenic pressure or are devastated for many years, they sometimes become habitats of rare species of animals and plants. Moreover, military training fields quite frequently contain unique microhabitats, which in natural conditions would not be sustained due to succession processes (e.g. plant overgrowth). For example puddles made by tank continuous tracks, which are habitats of a rare crustacean species Branchipus schaefferi [1, 2]. Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 246 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 The area of the military training field in Biedrusko near Poznań (which is still used by the Polish Army), is protected by the regulations of the Nature 2000 Programme because this area contains habitats of such rare species as the hermit beetle (Osmoderma eremita), large copper butterfly (Lycaena dispar), marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia), swamp minnow (Rhynchocypris percnurus), Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina), and great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). Similarly, the area of the military training field in Orzysz, which is also protected by the law, is inhabited by the black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) [3], corn crake (Crex crex), common crane (Grus grus), and some other rare bird species [4]. As in this area there are also many rare plants, such as moorlands and sand turfs with many different plant species, the area is going to be made a green refuge. A good example of such a place is also Borne Sulinowo [5]. After many years of exploitation by German and Soviet armies, the area of the local military training field has regenerated and now it is inhabited by many species such as the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), heron (Ardeidae), great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), and many other species of birds, as well as beavers and other species of protected animals. Moreover, in the area of this military training field there are 400 species of plants, including 20 protected species among them. The trees growing in this area, which quite frequently contain ricochet bullets and pieces of bullets, will never be cut down because the wood from these trees has no value from the economic point of view. One of the most obvious advantages of military training fields is that due to restricted public access they are quite interesting places for conducting faunistic research that would be simply impossible in other areas. A good example of non-military use of such areas as a source of valuable faunistic data is research in the field of forensic entomology (e.g. conducted by Konwerski, Sienkiewicz, Bajerlein, Matuszewski, and Mądra) [6-15]. Unfortunately, little is known about fauna and flora of military training fields, mostly due to the prolonged restricted public access to such areas. Nowadays, the former military training field in Olsztyn and the adjacent valley of Skanda Lake (including the area of the so-called Lasek Pieczewski) are under severe anthropogenic pressure: they serve as leisure grounds for inhabitants, some military vehicle rallies were also held there in the past. The management plan for this area assumes the construction of big housing district, together with office and commercial infrastructure. Scientific Park (Park Naukowo-Technologiczny) and bypass road around the city were already constructed. The area of the former military training field is a part of natural green ring of the city and probably ecological route, which should remain connected and passable, especially in a situation when the urban areas of the city are extended every year. The maintenance of the net of well connected corridors and refuges of wilderness is extremely important for the biological diversity and should be taken into account in local decision making and urban planning. The evaluation of the state of the environment in the area under scrutiny was conducted before the investments were started and can serve as the starting point for comparisons and further research about urbanization of fauna and flora in Olsztyn. It may also help to present the most valuable remnants of the south-eastern part of green ring of the city that may need additional protection. The major aim of the present study was to evaluate the state of the environment in the area of the former military training field and the adjacent areas in Olsztyn. In this case mites from the suborder Uropodina and cohort Labidostommatina (Acari: Mesostigmata et Prostigmata) were used as bioindicators. Uropodina is one of the best known groups of mites in Poland. According to Błoszyk [16], there are 137 Uropodina species in Poland. Wiśniewski and Hirschmann [17] claim that the total number of Uropodina species in Poland is about 150. Uropodina mites live in different types of habitats - including both soil and Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 247 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 litter and unstable habitats (i.e. merocenoses) [see e.g. 16, 18]. Uropodina which inhabit unstable habitats (such as tree hollows, anthills, as well as bird and mammal nests), are very often capable of changing their habitat by passive dispersion (phoresy), i.e. they use other organism to spread over new areas [16, 19]. Most of Uropodina are steno- and oligotopic species [see e.g. 16, 20, 21], with very specific environmental requirements and very sensitive to any changes in the conditions of the environment such as Trachytes lamda [16, 22, 23]. But, there are also some species, for example Oodinychus karawaiewi which is known to prefer disturbed environments [24]. This diversity of habitat preferences and ecological tolerance, of Uropodina allows us to evaluate condition of forest ecosystems on the basis of occurrence and abundance of particular species. Moreover, Uropodina mites have numerous morphological differences in their size, shape, chaetotaxy with several different morphotypes and quite evident sexual dimorphism (different shape and size of genital shields in males and females) [16]. These features make them relatively easy to determine the species and sex. This is a very important feature of bioindicators used in valorisations and other expertises. The second group of organisms used in this study as bioindicators of the current state of the soil environment in the examined area contains mites from the family Labidostommatidae, which in the analysed material was represented by one species, i.e. Labidostomma luteum Kramer, 1889. Poland is a habitat for three species from this group, which have different range of occurrence and habitat preferences [25-27]. Labidostomma luteum has the widest range of occurrence in Poland and frequently lives in lowlands. The species from the genus Labidostomma have one common characteristic, i.e. they avoid habitats with high levels of anthropogenic pressure [25, 27]. 2. MATERIAL AND METHODS The following paragraphs are a brief description of the study area and the methods used during sample collection in the examined ground plots. The detailed description of study area is available in Zduniak [28]. 2.1. Study area The former military training field examined in this study is located in the south-eastern outskirts of Olsztyn (Figure 1). It covers an area of roughly 3 km2 with a circumference of 15 km. Moreover, in the examined area there is also Skanda Lake with the adjacent meadows and forests. The former military training field is located in the middle of the area and it mainly comprises open and thicket areas with forest succession. In the northern and western parts the area of the former military training field there is a zone consisting of mixed forests, whereas in the south - mostly mixed and deciduous forests. In the south the former military training field is adjacent to the so-called Lasek Pieczewski, which is governed by Olsztyn Forest Inspectorate (departments 161 and 162). This forest area contains mainly marshland woods, which have been naturally regenerated in the formerly arable lands (data from Olsztyn Forest Inspectorate). The examined ground plots have been collated according to the numbering system presented on the map given below (Figure 1). The samples were collected and arranged according to the ground plots in which there were collected and the data. The full list of all ground plots from which the samples were collected is available in Soil Fauna Databank (Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology AMU) marked with OLS- symbol stands for the number of the sample. The samples used for the analysis in this study were collected by Milena Zduniak. 2.2. Materials The material for the analysis used in this study was collected in the area of the former military training Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 248 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 field and the surrounding zone, around Skanda Lake, and in the area of national forests districts 161 and 162 during spring, summer and autumn 2012. In the 65 ground plots selected for the study (Figure 1) [28], 113 samples were collected - both qualitative (92) and quantitative (21). 63 samples were collected from soil and a number of 50 samples from different types of merocenoses such as dead wood and tree hollows. The volume of the quantitative samples was 30 cm2 and they were collected with a biocenometre to a depth of 10 cm. The sieve samples (volume of approx. 0.51) were obtained by means of an entomological sieve, whose holes had a diameter of 0.4 cm. The samples from dead wood were also of a similar volume. The dead wood material comes from rotten trunks and stumps as well as from tree hollows. The material collected for the analysis was placed in Tullgren funnels for about 7 days and the extracted mesofauna was preserved in 75% ethyl alcohol. The extracted specimens were deposited in the Natural History Collections at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (some of the specimens were also used in molecular analyses). The data from the collected material were analysed with Analizator 2.0 software developed by Desmodus. The comparative analysis was also based on the data from Soil Fauna Databank (Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology AMU) on Uropodina and Labidostommatina in Warmian-Masurian Voivoideship, collected by different researchers in different periods. Figure 1. Location and distribution of the examined ground plots. Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 249 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 2.3. Data analysis methods The following classes of ecological indices for Dominance (D%) and Frequency (F%) were used in this study [16]: Dominance: D5, eudominants (>30%); D4, dominants (15.1-30.0%); D3, subdominants (7.1-15.0%); D2, residents (3.0-7.0%); and D1, subresidents (<3%). Frequency: F5, euconstants (>50%); F4, constants (30.1-50%); F3, subconstants (15.1-30.0%); F2, accessory species (5.0-15.0%); and F1, accidents (<5%). The single-variable analysis were conducted with the Mann-Whitney U test (p<0.01). The maps illustrating the distribution were generated with MapInfo 11.0, CorelDraw 12, and Google Earth. The exact location and distribution of the examined ground plots were established with GPS devices Garmin Dakota 10. The Open Street Map (OSM) as a basemap was used for the distribution maps. 3. RESULTS 3.1. General characteristics of the analysed community Table 1. Species of Uropodina found in the former military training field in Olsztyn: N - number of specimens, Ave ± SD - average number of specimens in a positive sample ± Standard Deviation, F% - frequency, D% - dominance, N - number of specimens, Nsp - number of species. Species N Ave.±SD D% F% Oodinychus ovalis (C. L. Koch, 1839) 1160 18.71±34.56 38.33 54.87 Janetiella pulchella (Berlese, 1904) 464 14.97±20.67 15.33 27.43 Oodinychus karawaiewi (Berlese, 1903) 459 32.79±84.55 15.17 12.39 Uroobovella obovata (Canestrini et Berlese, 1884) 213 53.25±48.68 7.04 3.54 Trachytes aegrota (C. L. Koch, 1841) 141 4.86±5.93 4.66 25.66 Dinychus inermis (C. L. Koch, 1841) 123 24.60±42.09 4.06 4.42 Urodiaspis tecta (Kramer, 1876) 112 5.09±5.20 3.70 19.47 Olodiscus minima (Kramer, 1882) 96 5.65±6.15 3.17 15.04 Trachytes pauperior (Berlese, 1914) 58 9.67±16.71 1.92 5.31 Labidostomma luteum Kramer, 1879 47 7.83±6.18 1.55 5.31 Dinychus carinatus Berlese, 1903 36 7.20±8.53 1.19 4.42 Iphiduropoda penicillata (Hirschmann et Z.-Nicol, 1961) 27 13.50±13.44 0.89 1.77 Uropoda orbicularis (Müller, 1776) 21 3.50±2.07 0.69 5.31 Dinychus woelkiei Hirschmann et Zirngiebl-Nicol, 1969 11 1.57±0.54 0.36 6.19 Uroobovella sp. 10 5.00±1.41 0.33 1.77 Uropoda sp. 9 4.50±4.95 0.30 1.77 Discourella modesta (Leonardi, 1889) 8 2.00±2.000 0.26 3.54 Olodiscus misella (Berlese, 1916) 8 4.00±4.24 0.26 1.77 Pseudouropoda sp. 7 7.00 0.23 0.88 Janetiella pyriformis (Berlese, 1920) 7 3.50±2.12 0.23 1.77 Leiodinychus orbicularis (C. L. Koch, 1839) 3 1.50±0.71 0.10 1.77 Dinychura cordieri (Berlese, 1916) 3 3.00 0.10 0.88 Dinychus arcuatus (Trägårdh, 1922) 3 3.00 0.10 0.88 N 3,026 Nsp 23 Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 250 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 The community of Uropodina and Labidostommatina found in the examined area contained 23 taxa (Table 1). The most numerous species was Oodinychus ovalis, which constituted roughly 38% of the whole community and its frequency of occurrence in the analysed samples was 55%. The other numerous species found in the analysed material were Janetiella pulchella and Oodinychus karawaiewi, which make up 15% respectively of the community. Among the other species with fairly high abundance there were also Uroobovella obovata, Trachytes aegrota, Dinychus inermis, Urodiaspis tecta, and Olodiscus minima. Big participation of J. pulchella and Uro. obovata in the community probably stems from the fact that almost half of the analysed material (i.e. 44%) comes from merocenoses of dead wood. 3.2. Differences between communities of studied mites in soil and merocenoses The Uropodina community inhabiting soil and litter contained 17 taxa and was dominated by Oo. karawaiewi (Table 2) but it was not the most frequent species in this community. The group of the most frequent species were Oo. ovalis, T. aegrota, U. tecta, and O. minima (Table 3). These 5 species constituted 80% of the community, however, the total frequency of each species was not higher than 40%. Table 2. Species of Uropodina and Labidostommatina found in the study area: Ave ± SD - average number of specimens in a positive sample ± Standard Deviation; F% - frequency, D% - dominance, Nsp - number of species, Ns - number of samples, N - number of specimens. Species Soil Merocenoses N Ave±SD D% F% N Ave±SD D% F% Oo. karawaiewi 459 32.79±84.55 35.06 22.22 Oo. ovalis 256 10.24±14.91 19.56 39.68 904 24.43±42.33 52.65 74.00 Uro. obovata 213 53.25±48.68 12.41 8.00 T. aegrota 132 5.74±6.38 10.08 36.51 9 1.50±0.55 0.52 12.00 D. inermis 121 30.25±46.36 9.24 6.35 2 0.12 2.00 U. tecta 110 5.50±5.29 8.40 31.75 2 1.00±0.00 0.12 4.00 O. minima 93 6.64±6.37 7.10 22.22 3 1.00±0.00 0.17 6.00 J. pulchella 40 8.00±10.86 3.06 7.94 424 16.31±21.96 24.69 52.00 L. luteum 37 7.40±6.80 2.83 7.94 10 0.58 2.00 Ur. orbicularis 21 3.50±2.07 1.60 9.52 T. pauperior 12 4.00±5.20 0.92 4.76 46 15.33±23.97 2.68 6.00 Dis. modesta 8 2.00±2.00 0.61 6.35 O. misella 8 4.00±4.24 0.61 3.17 Uroobovella sp. 4 0.31 1.59 6 0.35 2.00 L. orbicularis 3 1.50±0.71 0.23 3.17 D. arcuatus 3 0.23 1.59 D. carinatus 36 7.20±8.53 2.10 10.00 I. penicillata 27 13.50±13.44 1.57 4.00 Pseudouropoda sp. 7 0.41 2.00 J. pyriformis 7 3.50±2.12 0.41 4.00 Di. cordieri 3 0.17 2.00 D. woelkiei 1 0.08 1.59 10 1.67±0.52 0.58 12.00 Uropoda sp. 1 0.08 1.59 8 0.47 2.00 Nsp 17 17 Ns 63 50 N 1,309 1,717 Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 251 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 Table 3. Abundance and frequency of Uropodina mites in the analysed soil material. Quantity /incidence Very common Common Rare Very rare Very frequent Oo. ovalis U. tecta Frequent Oo. karawaiewi O. minima Not frequent T. aegrota D. inermis J. pulchella Ur. orbicularis, Dis. modesta Occasional T. pauperior, O. misella, Uroobovella sp., L. orbicularis, D. arcuatus, Uropoda sp., D. woelkei Table 4. Abundance and frequency of Uropodina in the analysed dead wood merocenoses. Quantity/incidence Very common Common Rare Very rare Very frequent Oo. ovalis J. pulchella Frequent Not frequent Uro. obovata T. pauperior, D. carinatus, Di. woelkei, T. aegrota, O. minima Occasional I. penicillata, Uropoda sp., Pseudouropoda sp., J. pyriformis, Uroobovella sp., Di. cordieri, U. tecta, D. inermis The community of Uropodina inhabiting the examined merocenoses of dead wood contained also 17 taxa. In this community the most numerous species were Oo. ovalis, J. pulchella and Uro. obovata (Table 2, 4), which constituted almost 90% of the whole community. The frequency of the first two species in the collected samples was very high and exceeded 50% (Table 2). The other species were less frequent and not so numerous (Table 4). Comparison of habitat preferences of selected species of mites shows that there were 6 species that were found only in the dead wood material, i.e. Uro. obovata, D. carinatus, Ip. penicillata, D. woelkiei, J. pyriformis, and Di. cordieri. There is also group of 6 species which were found only in the soil material, but not present in merocenoses. These species are: Oo. karawaiewi, Ur. orbicularis, O. misella, Dis. modesta, D. arcuatus and Le. orbicularis. Analysis shows, that species that occurred in both types of habitat usually preferred one of them. For example, L. luteum was much more frequent in dead wood (7.94%) than in soil (2%) (Table 2). Only in the case of T. pauperior there were no significant differences between the abundance of the species in the dead wood and soil (U Mann-Whitney rank test; U = 1293, z = 0,12; p > 0,05) (Table 5). T. aegrota and U. tecta were much more numerous in soil (rank test U Mann-Whitney: U = 951,5, z = 2,38; p < 0,05; U = 871, z = 2,92; p < 0,01), whereas Oo. ovalis and J. pulchella were more numerous in the dead wood material (U Mann-Whitney rank test: U = 825, z = 3,22; p < 0,01; U = 739,5, z = 3,89; p < 0,001). Table 5. Comparison of habitat preferences of selected species of Uropodina mites. Values represent mean number of specimens per sample: * - statistically significant differences with habitat preference. Species Merocenoses Soil T. aegrota* 0,2 2,1 T. pauperior 0,2 1,0 U. tecta* >0,1 1,9 Oo. ovalis* 18,8 4,4 J. pulchella* 9,0 0,7 Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 252 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 3.3. Spatial distribution of Uropodina and Labidostommatina in the examined area Most of the 65 ground plots of the examined area (i.e. 89%) were inhabited by the species enumerated above. However, the two analysed groups were considerably different as to the frequency of occurrence and spatial distribution. Labidostommatina were far less frequent and the specimens of L. luteum were found in samples only from 3 ground plots (i.e. 58, 64, 65), located in the southern part of the examined area (Figure 2). Figure 2. Ground plots with Labidostomma luteum occurrrence. Figure 3. Number of species per ground plot. The spatial distribution of the found Uropodina mites was much more regular here. These mites occurred in the whole area, except ground plots no. 1, 2, 3, 26, 34, 46, 59, and 63, where no specimen was found. The number of species found in the examined plots fluctuated between 0 and 9 (Figure 3). The most interesting and abundant Uropodina species were those found around Skanda Lake and in the southern part of the examined area - Lasek Pieczewski. 3.4. Frequency of occurrence and spatial distribution of Uropodina in examined area The most common Uropodina species, which occurred in the whole examined area, were Oo. ovalis (39 - Number of ground plots in which a given species occurred), J. pulchella (25), and T. aegrota (23) (see Figures 4A-C). As can be seen, the species which were sporadic in the examined area were U. tecta (14), O. minima (13), and Oo. karawaiewi (10) (Figures 4D, 5A, and 5B). In a few cases such species as D. arcuatus, I. penicillata, and Di. cordieri were also found (Figure 8). The other species were attested only in 2-7 ground plots (for details see Figures 5 C, D, 6 and7). Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 253 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 Figure 4. Spatial distribution of the found species: A - Oodinychus ovalis, B - Janetiella pulchella, C - Trachytes aegrota, D - Urodiaspis tecta. Figure 5. Spatial distribution of the found species: A - Olodiscus minima, B - Oodinychus karawaiewi, C - Dinychus woelkei, D - Dinychus carinatus. 3.5. Species composition of Uropodina community in examined area of Warmian-Masurian voivoideship The earlier observations made by Błoszyk (unpublished data) and the data stored in the database Soil Fauna Bank (Natural History Collections, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań) have been very helpful in assessing the diversity of Uropodina mites in the area of the former military training field and the whole region. However, this region of Poland is one of those which still have not been thoroughly examined in this respect, so little is known about the acarofauna of this region. In the area of Warmia- Masurian voivoideship 34 species of Uropodina mites were found. The most abundant species found in this region are T. aegrota and Oo. ovalis, which constituted 54% of the whole community. These two species and U. tecta are apparently common in this region, and the frequency of occurrence in the analysed samples fluctuated between 39% and 55% (Table 6). As can be seen, the Uropodina community in the examined area is less diverse and constitutes only 53% of all species found so far in the whole region (Table 7). In the analysed material there was one species which was quite dominant, i.e. Oo. ovalis, which is probably due to the fact that the collected material contained many samples from merocenoses of dead wood. The high frequency of J. pulchella can be also explained by this fact. Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 254 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 Table 6. Analysis of Uropodina community in Warmian-Masurian voivoideship. Dominance Frequency Eudominants - Euconstants T. aegrota - 54.7% Dominants T. aegrota - 27.6% Oo. ovalis - 26.4% Constants Oo. ovalis - 44.2% U. tecta - 38.95% Subdominants U. tecta - 11.8% Oo. karawaiewi - 10.2% Tr. elegans - 7.9% Subconstants O. minima - 24.2% T. pauperior - 15.8% Recedents C. cassideasimilis - 3.7% Accessorial species U. pannonica - 13.7% Oo. karawaiewi - 12.6% C. cassideasimilis - 11.6% Tr. elegans - 10.5% D. perforatus - 8.4% N. splendida - 7.4% D. carinatus - 7.4% Di. modesta - 5.3% Subrecedents 28 species Accidental species 21 species Figure 6. Spatial distribution of the found species: A - Dinychus inermis, B - Uropoda orbicularis, C - Trachytes pauperior, D - Discourella modesta. Figure 7. Spatial distribution of the found species: A - Uroobovella obovata, B - Olodiscus misella, C - Leiodinychus orbicularis, D - Janetiella pyriformis. Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 255 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 Table 7. Analysis of Uropodina community in former military training field in Olsztyn. Dominance Frequency Eudominants Oo. ovalis - 38.3% Euconstants Oo. ovalis - 54.9% Dominants J. pulchella - 15.3% Oo. karawaiewi - 15.4% Constants - Subdominants Uro. obovata - 7.0% Subcontstans J. pulchella - 27.4% T. aegrota - 25.7% U. tecta - 19.5% O. minima - 15.0% Accessorial species Recedents T. aegrota - 4.7% D. inermis - 4.1% U. tecta - 3.7% O. minima - 3.2% Oo. karawaiewi - 12.4% D. woelkei - 6.2% T. pauperior - 5.3% Ur. orbicularis - 5.3% Subrecedents 15 species Accidental species 14 species Figure 8. Spatial distribution of the found species: A - Dinychus arcuatus, B - Ipiduropoda penicillata, C - Dinychura cordieri. Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 256 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 4. DISCUSSION Abandoned military areas often become a refuge for many rare species of plants and animals [see e.g. 4-8]. Because of that, it is very important to manage these terrains properly and preserve their natural values. There are many examples of such areas in Poland, for example Biedrusko or Orzysz [3-5], that were appreciated for their natural values and became part of Natura 2000 conservational program. On the other hand they often require restoration and management plans to provide them with proper protection. Our study field is subject to heavy anthropogenic pressure - the evidence is that synanthropic species [24] Oo. karawaiewi is common. But we also found a relatively large number of species (23) of mites from cohort Uropodina and Labidostommatina, especially in the neighborhood of Skanda Lake. Higher species richness of these mites can be a sign of good soil condition, and probably also other organisms engaged in ecological (i.e. trophic) relations with it, such as plants and animals (especially invertebrates). On the western and southern shore of the lake, some authors described occurrence of a patch of well preserved old growth of alder-ash forest and riparian forest [28] - in these regions the highest number of Uropodina species was found (Figure 4). Labidostomma luteum inhabits deciduous old growth forests [25] and also in our field this species was found in a similar ecosystem. However, in the same patch of old oak forest we found Oo. karawaiewi, which inhabits places transformed by human [24]. That means this area is affected by human activities. Skanda Lake is also under urbanization pressure. Former military zone in Olsztyn and adjacent areas serve as an interesting subject for various ecological studies. Terrain relief is very diverse; there are some swamps and small water bodies, which create habitats for many plants and animals. Such heterogeneous mosaic of habitats can be essential for biodiversity. Furthermore, part of this area is designed for construction of a new housing district. The works were already started and are destroying part of its ecosystems, and others will be exposed to even more severe human impact in the near future. Because of that, regular zoological and botanical inventory research is needed for evaluation and monitoring of ecological changes in this system. Moreover, the inventory can serve as a basis for adequate management and conservation of more valuable parts of this terrain. Data on mites in this area suggests that the most valuable forests are situated around Skanda Lake (the highest species richness of Uropodina mites) and southern part of Lasek Pieczewski (occurrence of rare species Labidostomma luteum). In the former military zone (in the middle of our study field), many fewer species of Uropodina were found. Although, this area can still be important for many species of fauna: as a refuge, food base and an ecological corridor. Preserving refuges of unmanaged wild refuges in the most valuable areas (in contrast to high-maintanance parks and other managed green areas) would help local ecosystems to maintain relative stability in the face of urbanization. Results obtained in this project should be taken with some precaution. We need to take into account that most habitats in Olsztyn’s military zone are in early stage of succession and in this kind of habitats, Uropodina mites are less frequent than in mature forests [16, 22, 23]. It is impossible to make comparisons of mite communities from forests and meadows based on species richness. So, habitat selectivity of these organisms makes them indicators of limited use - they should be used just in one type of environment. Although the land use plan for this area assumes that part of green areas will be preserved, connectivity and functioning of the whole system will change dramatically, and its ecological role will weaken without any doubt. Ecologically friendly land use planning could at least partially reduce the deterioration of this area and could be also an interesting study site for urban ecology research. To evaluate this area’s ecosystems there is a need to conduct more research focused on fauna’s and flora’s diversity. Changes in functioning of ecosystems Zduniak et al. Mites of a former military training field 257 European Journal of Biological Research 2019; 9(4): 245-258 in this area, such habitat fragmentation, synurbization of fauna and flora could also be an interesting subject for urban ecologists. However, the research may serve as one of the elements of the natural valorisation of the area of the former military training field in Olsztyn and be helpful in preparing of the land use plan of this area in the future. Authors’ Contributions: MZ: Collection of samples; Conception of the paper and design of the first version of the manuscript; Analysis and interpretation of data. JB: Identification of mites; Conception of the paper and design of the first version of the manuscript; Analysis and interpretation of data; Technical support. MN: elaboration and processing data into the GIS system and preparation of the maps. AN: Analysis and interpretation of the data; Translation into English; Preparation of the final version of the manuscript; Administrative support. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. REFERENCES 1. Kořínková T, Gołdyn B. 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