Biodiversity of oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) in the Tatra Mountains, Central Europe

ABSTRACT The study provides a detailed historical overview of faunistic studies dealing with the oribatid mites of the Tatra Mountains and contains a comprehensive list showing that the fauna of the Tatra Mts. includes 321 species of oribatids from 51 families. Within our research during the season 2018–2021, we recorded a total of 101 species (22,554 specimens) from 33 families in the studied sites of Lomnické Saddle, Velická Valley, Tomanová Valley, and Waksmundzka Valley. Our findings revealed a great diversity of oribatids in the alpine grade, with the presence of boreal and boreomontane species, such as Oribatella dudichi Willmann, 1938, and Melanozetes meridianus Sellnick, 1928. Coprological analyses of chamois and marmot faeces demonstrated a high prevalence of anoplocephalid tapeworms; therefore, we focused on oribatids involved in the life cycle of these parasites, and we confirmed the presence of 16 oribatid species listed as intermediate hosts. Based on morphological determination, 5 of them contained a larval stage of a tapeworm in the body cavity. Such results have not previously been confirmed from our territory; faunistic and ecological research on soil fauna has been carried out thus far in Slovakia. The results presented herein confirm the role of oribatid mites in the circulation of anoplocephalid tapeworms in the alpine zone of the Tatra Mountains.