Industrial and postindustrial sites are effects of human activity that creates new habitats for many species. Among others, these sites are well occupied by mites of the order Mesostigmata. Because these animals have rather low tolerance to changes in soil environment, they are generally highly abundant, taxonomically and trophically diversified, they may potentially be used as powerful bioindicators and their presence or absence in the upper soil horizons may be a good base for describing changes of environmental conditions and ecosystem perturbations. In the paper we listed the most common mites from the order Mesostigmata (80 species) found in Poland and we also described the environmental conditions they occupy. In Poland, most of these species were found by scientists from two research centers: University of Technology and Life Sciences with University of Kazimierz Wielki in Bydgoszcz and University of Silesia in Katowice. Most of the species found are very common, however some of them may be used to evaluate the effects of human influence on the environment, not only at the species level but also the zoocenosis level.
展开▼
