Population density of free-living mites in the ice-free areas around Syowa Station, East Antarctica

Abstract

Population density of free-living mites was surveyed in the ice-free areas of Ongul Islands, Langhovde and Skarvsnes in the vicinity of Lutzow-Holm Bay, Antarctica. Sampling of mites was carried out on the sandy ground without macrophytic vegetation quantitatively using a petri dish of 6 cm in diameter and 1 cm in depth in January and February 1976. Mites were isolated from the sand by the floatation method. The highest density of mite population in each ice-free area was as follows: 57 mites in a petri dishful of sand in East Ongul Island, 75 mites in West Ongul Island and 82 mites in Skarvsnes. A preliminary observation on the relationship between the population density and the habitat moisture was made along the margin of the Yukidori Valley in Langhovde. Sampling was made at 1 m intervals from the waterside. The highest density of mite population was observed at the sampling point 2-3 m away from the waterside.