The arachnological collections belongs today to the type richest collections of the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Goerlitz. The extensive data on species, localities and literature are stored in a special database program and available for scientific use. Current literature references and descriptions of new species of the groups Mesostigmata, Oribatida and Actinedida are collected worldwide and will be published in the journal “ACARI – Bibliographia Acarologica”.
Since the fall of 2013, the spring fen in the Sernitz Valley (Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve), another fen that had been affected by drainage, was sampled for soil fauna.
As part of the EU-LIFE Lesser Spotted Eagle project (www.lifeschreiadler.de), carried out by the Brandenburg Landesamt für Umwelt, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz, this bog was subsequently recultivated by, e.g., mowing (2014, 2015) and topsoil removal (October 2015). The effects of these measures on the soil fauna (Oribatida, Collembola) are documented every six months. The investigations should show whether the measures can achieve the development of a peatland-specific species composition.
Bioindication in acidic Sphagnum bogsVarious peat moss-rich bogs (e.g. Müritz National Park, Harz National Park) are examined with regard to their oribatid fauna and various environmental parameters (pH, C/N, vegetation) are recorded in parallel in order to characterize this type of bog and to derive the indicator value of individual oribatid mite species. If possible, different levels of degradation are sampled in a small area to find indicators for the quality of a bog.
Dubringer MoorAt 1,700 ha, the Dubringer Moor nature reserve is the largest contiguous peatland complex in Saxony and was already extensively investigated (soil) zoologically and botanically between 1986 and 1989. The oribatids were also sampled and have since been stored in the museum collection, but not identified so far. By comparing the current species inventory (sampling in 2012: soil samples, pitfall traps; Oribatida, Araneae, Myriapoda, Carabidae) with the inventory 25 years ago, the effects of increasing (drainage-related) desiccation were worked out. The results showed a clear decline in typical peatland species. The abundance of peatland-specific species still present is significantly reduced. However, in the event of prompt renaturation, the remaining species would presumably enable rapid regeneration of the peatland community (Lehmitz 2014).
The differences between the soil animal communities of a birch bog forest created by natural succession and a spruce forest created by afforestation were also investigated. Although the spruce forest grows on bog soil/peat, no peatland-specific oribatid mite species were found (Lehmitz 2014).
Small-scale heterogeneity of the isotopic signature (δ13C, δ15N) of Sphagnum and oribatidsThe ratios of stable isotopes in Sphagnum sp. and the oribatids extracted from it were measured sample-specific to a) determine the trophic levels of tyrphophilous moss mite species and b) find out whether small-scale heterogeneity of a food resource transfers to potential consumers. It has been shown that oribatids in Sphagnum bogs cover three trophic levels and that the small-scale heterogeneity of δ15N in Sphagnum is transferred to all trophic levels (Lehmitz & Maraun 2016)
In various field experiments at the edge of the Nochten open-cast coal mine, the ways in which oribatid mites migrate into young soils were investigated. Wind dispersal was examined more closely as an immigration route by exposing sticky traps at different altitudes and examining them for oribatid mites. The transport of oribatid mites by the wind was demonstrated at an altitude of up to 160 m (Lehmitz et al. 2011). In addition, 12 circular plots were installed in an experimental area in which the top 30 cm of the meadow soil was replaced with moss mite-free substrate from the open-cast mine. Here, the active and passive epigeic (minibarber traps) and endogeic (minicontainer traps) immigration of moss mites was investigated over two years (Lehmitz et al. 2012).
As part of Meike Schuppenhauer’s dissertation, the dispersal of oribatid mites via watercourses was investigated. It was shown that streams and rivers can transport oribatid mites and other soil animals over long distances and thus play an important role in population dynamics and the colonization of new habitats (e.g. recolonization of peatlands after renaturation). In laboratory experiments, a considerable survival time of oribatid mites under water was demonstrated, as well as the ability to be transported on the surface of running water for many hours, although the results differed significantly from species to species (Schuppenhauer et al. 2019).
Soil is a highly diverse and individual-rich habitat. In order to morphologically examine its mostly tiny inhabitants, high-quality microscopes, many years of taxonomic expertise and a lot of time are required. For this reason, even in Germany, soil biodiversity has only been insufficiently studied and long-term studies that would allow conclusions about population trends only exist for earthworms at most. However, soil organisms are essential for many ecosystem functions and so the development of faster, but taxonomically correct, recording methods is necessary. Various collaborative projects (GBOL, MetaInvert) have therefore contributed to the development of molecular methods for recording soil animal communities (Schmidt et al. 2022) and, above all, the development of reference libraries with correctly identified species markers (Lehmitz & Decker 2017; Collins et al. 2023).
The FU Berlin was commissioned by the BfN to carry out the project ” Erstellung der Roten Listen 2020 – Vorbereitungsphase (FKZ 3511 861100)”. The aim of the project was to optimize the methods used to compile Red Lists. As there was no Red List of lumbricids in Germany so far and the number of earthworm species seemed manageable, the first German Red List of earthworms was compiled using and testing the methodology and tools of the BfN (Lehmitz et al. 2016).
In collaboration with Germany’s lumbricid experts, a checklist of German lumbricid species was first compiled (Lehmitz et al. 2014), as it was not previously known exactly how many earthworm species there are in Germany. In addition, as much data as possible on earthworm records from the last 100 years was compiled and evaluated from literature and collections as well as from institutions and private persons, primarily using the Edaphobase soil animal data warehouse. The risk assessment was then carried out on the basis of the current population situation, the population trend and possible risk factors. The Red List also included an analysis of Germany’s responsibility for the individual species.
The Arachnida collection of the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz comprises more than 3,300 species, including types of 700 species, and approx. 230,000 individuals, and is today one of the museum’s most type-rich collections. The collection focuses on Oribatida (moss mites), Gamasina (predatory mites) and Araneae (web spiders).
The Oribatida collection is the most species- and individual-rich part of the Arachnida collection. In addition to the respective curators’ own collections (Hans-Dieter Engelmann, Thomas Schwalbe, Volker Hampe, Ricarda Lehmitz), it contains collections from Josef Starý and Gerd Weigmann, among others. The predominantly European species are mostly preserved in glycerine and/or alcohol. There is type material from Sergey G. Ermilov, Manfred Moritz, Ludwig Beck, Gerd Weigmann, Günther Krisper, Ladislav Miko, Reinhard Schuster, Thomas Schwalbe, Josef Starý, Tobias Pfingstl, Elizabeth A. Coetzee and Badamdorj Bayartogtokh.
The Mesostigmata collection with the Gamasina and Uropodina components, founded in 1984 by Dr. Axel Christian, today comprises mainly European species. Most of the individuals are stored in permanent microscopic slides. Important components are the collections of Marina Hutu (Uropodina), Gudo Dosse (Gamasina) and types of Wolfgang Karg (Gamasina).
The Actinedida collection was curated by Dr. David Russell from 2001 to 2024 and includes Central European species of Eupodina and Endeostigmata as well as the collection of Gudo Dosse (Tetranychoidea and Raphignathoidea) with mites from Europe, Asia and Africa and some Trombidiidae.
In the Araneae collection (web spiders) there are mainly specimens from Saxony, Thuringia and other German federal states, as well as from selected European regions such as the Balkans. The recent spiders are stored in alcohol. There is also material in amber (types by Jörg Wunderlich). A significant part of the collection goes back to Rudolf Graul from Lusatia. A large number of local spiders from Friedrich Sander let the collection grow. The Araneae collection also contains specimens from research projects of the Natural History Museum Görlitz from the 1990s to the present, collected and identified by Dr. Birgit Balkenhol.
The extensive observation data of the Oribatida and Gamasina are stored in the EDAPHOBASE data warehouse and are freely accessible after registration. The sampling data on the Araneae and the fossil mites in amber are stored in AQUiLA. The type material of Gamasina and Uropodina can freely be examined online in the virtual microscope (VIRMISCO).
1076 species, approx. 55,000 determined individuals
208 species holo- and paratypes fossil (amber) recent
Localities: Europe, Baltic states, Domicanian Republic
Collections: R. Graul, F. Sander, J. Wunderlich
Type material: J. Wunderlich
AQUiLA
36 species, approx. 3,000 determined individuals
Localities: Central Europe
Collection: K. Lippold
58 species, approx. 22,000 determined individuals
Localities: Central Europe
Collection: K. Lippold
2 species Holotypes, 2 determined individuals
Locality: Myanmar
Collection: J. Wunderlich
318 species, approx. 13,000 determined individuals
74 species holo- and paratypes
Localities: Central Europe, Central and South Amerika, Antarctis
Type material: W. Karg, G. Dosse, F. Faraji, A. Christian, A. Nemati
EDAPHOBASE, VIRMISCO
193 species, approx. 4,000 determined individuals
67 species holo- and paratypes
Localitites: Central Europe
Collection: M. Hutu, J. Starý
Type material: M. Hutu, Z. Feider, J. Kontschán & J. Starý
VIRMISCO
15 species, approx. 38,000 determined individuals
Localities: Central Europe
1.476 species, approx. 134,000 determined individuals
344 species holo- and paratypes A-J K-P R-Z
Localities: Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia
Collection: J. Starý, G. Weigmann
Type materials: M. Moritz, L. Beck, G. Weigmann, G. Krisper, L. Miko, R. Schuster, T. Schwalbe, J. Stary, T. Pfingstl, B. Bayartogtokh, S.G. Ermilov, E.A. Hugo-Coetzee
EDAPHOBASE
3 species, 8 determined individuals Distribution: Europe
177 species, approx. 48,000 determined individuals
9 species Holo- and Paratypes
Localities: Europe, Asia
Collection: G. Dosse, D. Russell, J. Starý, M. Zacharda
Type material: G. Dosse, J. Starý, St. Kalúz
4 species holotypes, 4 determined individuals
Localities: Baltic states
Type material: M. Judson, J. Dunlop, M. Zmudzinski
AOUiLA
The next Acarological Colloquium will take place in 2027.
Prague (Czechia)
Contact
For information and management of the address list
Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz
Sektion Arachnida
Dr. Ricarda Lehmitz
PF 300 154
02806 Görlitz
Germany
