Seasonal and Regional Changes in Mite Fauna of Domatia in Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki (Viburnaceae)

抄録

Leaf domatia have received increasing attention in ecology because of their role in plant-animal interactions. However, many previous studies have examined the fauna of domatia only for plants in one region in one season or under cultivated conditions, and have provided only limited insight into their real interactions with the animals inside. I studied the domatium fauna of Viburnum odoratissimum var. awabuki in its natural range of distribution and outside its natural range in the wild and in cultivated plants and in different seasons of the year. I also compared the domatium fauna with the fauna outside domatia of the same plant species, with the fauna inside the domatia of different plant species, and with the fauna on the leaves of surrounding plants with different leaf ornamentation. My findings showed similar composition of mite taxa inside the domatia within the natural range, whether the individuals of Viburnum were wild or cultivated. In comparison, the compositions differed between the inside and outside of domatia between different regions and between different seasons. The findings are a warning for caution in interpreting the results when plant-animal interactions in domatia are studied using plants outside the natural range and based on one-time sampling.