Oribatid mites

Gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar Larvae were fed diets containing 10, 50, 250, or 1250 mg Cu/kg ration from first instar to pupation effects measured on development rate, growth, survival, and reproductive success Oribatid mite, Platynothrus peltifer Fed diets with 13 (control), 28, 64, 168, 598, or 1498 mg Cu/kg DW diet for 3 months... 

Denneman, C.A.J. and N.M. van Straalen. 1991. The toxicity of lead and copper in reproduction tests using the oribatid mite Platynothrus peltifer. Pedobiol. 35 305-311. 

Apart from laterally discharged aggressive compounds from opisthonotal glands, some oribatid mites produce a sticky substance that deters ant attacks.103... 

Because of the enormous biomass of mites such as oribatids, their peculiar natural products might be more abundant in unrelated animals of terrestrial ecosystems.126 So, the chemistry of skin alkaloids in poisonous frogs often reflects their recent arthropod diet such as oribatids and ants.126 Moreover, several ants might be specialized on certain oribatid mites,127 whereas certain mites often prefer food such as pigmented fungal hyphae.126 Since alkaloids in scheloribatid mites are not present in larvae but found only in adults,121 the compounds might be either biosynthesized by adult mites or sequestered by adult mites from their fungal food. 

Norton, R. A. Behan-Pelletier, V. M. (1991). Calcium carbonate and calcium oxalate as cuticular hardening agents in oribatid mites (Acari Oribatida). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 69, 1504-11. 

Luxton M. (1982) Studies on the oribatid mites of a Danish beech wood soil. Pedobiologia 12, 434-463. 

Rihani M., Cancela Da Fonseca J. P., and Kiffer E. (1995a) Decomposition of beech leaf litter by microflora and mesofauna 11. Food preferences and action of oribatid mites on different substrates. Euro. J. Soil Biol. 31(2), 67-79. 

Recently, oribatid mites (arthropods that, such as spiders, belong to the class Arachnida) were shown to also produce many of the bicyclic ant alkaloids described in this section including twenty-five 5,8-disubstituted or... 

Among sensitive species of terrestrial invertebrates, earthworms show disrupted enzyme activities at whole body concentrations as low as 28.5 mg Cu/kg DW. Soil copper concentrations between 53.0 and 100.0 mg/kg DW kill soil nematodes and soil faunal communities and cause a reduction in cocoon production of earthworms. Diets that contain between 50.0 and 63.0 mg Cu/kg ration inhibit development and reproduction in gypsy moths and oribatid mites. The wood louse (Porcellio scaber), an isopod, is proposed as a bioindicator of copper contamination in terrestrial ecosystems because whole body concentrations seem to reflect copper loadings in the isopod s immediate environment. More research is recommended on isopods and other sentinel organisms. 

Ticks do not produced their own alkaloids. Rather, they are controlled by alkaloids and other bioactive compounds. Chemical defense also exists in mites, and alkaloids have a role in this defense,as an one group of these compounds. Examples include Oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida). A defense system is a part of the evolution of these organisms and differentiates them according to their genetic and morphological parameters. 

Heethoff M, Koemer L, Norton RA, Raspotnig G. Tasty but protected—First evidence of chemical defense in Oribatid mites. J Chem Ecol 2011 37(9) 1037-43. 

Gressitt, J. L. (1966a). Epizoic symbiosis The Papuan weevil genus Gym/io/>/io/M5(Leptopiinae) symbiotic with cryptogamic plants, oribatid mites, rotifers and nematodes. Pac. Insects 8, 221-280. 

The most s pificant development of the past decade has been the discovery of oribatid mites as an important new source of what were once regarded as typical frog skin metabohtes. The first unequivocal report of the presence of izidine alkaloids in mites from Japan came from a study of two species... 

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