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Critical factors in the limited occurrence of the Japanese tree sap mite Hericia sanukiensis (Acari: Astigmata: Algophagidae) inhabiting the sap of the oak Quercus acutissima

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Abstract

Hericia sanukiensis (Astigmata: Algophagidae) is a semi-aquatic mite inhabiting fermented sap flux of the Japanese sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) and utilizes Nitidulidae (Coleoptera) as the dispersal (phoretic) carrier. Although nitidulid beetles are commonly found in sap flux, the occurrence of H. sanukiensis has been extremely limited to a few trees in Shikoku Island, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. To elucidate the critical factors limiting the occurrence of this species, we compared several physical and biological characteristics of sap-exudation points, including the structure and temperature of tree trunks, period and abundance of sap exudation, and seasonal occurrence and dispersal behavior of nitidulid beetles between environments with and without mites. During the two consecutive years of field research, we found that only sap-exudation points with obvious tree holes (ringent area >10 cm2, depth >10 cm) had sustained mite populations throughout the observation period. In contrast, for the sap-exudation points lacking tree holes, H. sanukiensis temporally (from spring to autumn) colonized only when the sap production was considerably high. Thus, we suggest that the settlement of H. sanukiensis populations requires tree holes as an overwintering habitat. Nitidulid beetles also concentrated in areas with high sap production and did not disperse from such habitats during the sap flow season. This indicates that H. sanukiensis mites may only disperse and colonize new habitats at very limited opportunities, such as drastic habitat deterioration, which may promote the movement of their carrier. Taken together, these findings may explain the limited occurrence of this mite species.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. F. Ito and T. Kobayashi of Kagawa University for valuable suggestions and encouragement during this study. We also thank Dr. K. Okabe of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan in addition to the two anonymous referees for comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Miki-cho, Kagawa, 761-0795, Japan

    Kyohei Hayashi, Toshihide Ichikawa & Yukio Yasui

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  1. Kyohei Hayashi
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  2. Toshihide Ichikawa
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  3. Yukio Yasui
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Correspondence to Yukio Yasui.

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Hayashi, K., Ichikawa, T. & Yasui, Y. Critical factors in the limited occurrence of the Japanese tree sap mite Hericia sanukiensis (Acari: Astigmata: Algophagidae) inhabiting the sap of the oak Quercus acutissima . Exp Appl Acarol 54, 395–409 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-011-9463-3

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