Have mites (Acarina: Arachnida) colonised Antarctica and the islands of the Southern Ocean via air currents?

Mites (Acarina: Arachnida) have not colonised Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands by ballooning on air currents. All acarine records from Pacific and Southern Ocean aerial plankton represent dead coastal (hemi)-edaphic species or phoretics dislodged from their flying insect hosts. The few sub-A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Author: Pugh, P.J.A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2003
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247403003097
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247403003097
Description
Summary:Mites (Acarina: Arachnida) have not colonised Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands by ballooning on air currents. All acarine records from Pacific and Southern Ocean aerial plankton represent dead coastal (hemi)-edaphic species or phoretics dislodged from their flying insect hosts. The few sub-Antarctic records of mites capable of ‘ballooning’ on air currents are all verified as being attributed to anthropogenic introductions.