Spatial and temporal patterns of true bug assemblages extracted with Berlese funnels (Data to the knowledge on the ground-living Heteroptera of Hungary, No. 2)

A rich material of Heteroptera extracted with Berlese funnels by Dr. I. Loksa between 1953–1974 in Hungary, has been examined. Altogether 157 true bug species have been identified. The ground-living heteropteran assemblages collected in different plant communities, substrata, phytogeographical provinces and seasons have been compared with multivariate methods. Because of the unequal number of samples, the objects have been standardized with stochastic simulation. There are several true bug species, which have been collected in almost all of the plant communities. However, characteristic ground-living heteropteran assemblages have been found in numerous Hungarian plant community types. Leaf litter and debris seem to have characteristic bug assemblages. Some differences have also been recognised between the bug fauna of mosses growing on different surfaces. Most of the species have been found in all of the great phytogeographical provinces of Hungary. Most high-dominance species, which have been collected, can be found at the ground-level almost throughout the year. Specimens of many other species have been collected with Berlese funnels in spring, autumn and/or winter. The diversities of the ground-living heteropteran assemblages of the examined objects have also been compared.

Seasonal change of oribatid mite communities (Acari, Oribatida) in three different types of microhabitats in an oak forest

Oribatid mites are one of the most abundant groups of the ground-dwelling mesofauna. They can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat all over the world and they are characterized by great species richness and great number of individuals. In spite of that not enough is known about their behaviour on community level and their spatial and temporal pattern in different habitats of the world. In our present study the seasonal behaviour of oribatid mite communities was analysed in three types of microhabitats in a temperate deciduous forest: in leaf litter, soil and moss. Samples were collected at a given site in a year and a half and the oribatid mite communities living there were studied on genus level along with the changes of meteorological factors characteristic of the area. The results show that corresponding to similar previous researches, the communities in our study do not have a seasonally changing, returning pattern either. Based on this, we can conclude that climatic differences and differences in other seasonally changing factors between the seasons do not have a significant role in the annual change of communities. Besides that we discovered that the communities of the three microhabitats are not completely the same. It is the oribatid mite community of the moss which differs mostly from communities in the leaf litter and in the soil. Our study calls attention among others to the fact that compositional changes of the oribatid mite communities living all over the world and their causes are unclear to date.