Introduction and Theory
Domatia are little cave-like structures on the leaves of some plants that provide shelter for various mite species1.
They are thought to have a direct impact on the diversity of mite species present on a plant, the health of the
mites, and their fercundity1. Domatia are evidence of a long term mutualistic relationship between mites and
plants2. The mites help to keep the leaf surfaces clean of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens in return for pro-
tection from insect predators3, 4. The aim of this research was to determine if leaf surface area, number of leaf
veins, and number of domatia had any effect on the mite population. This was done by looking at 10 different
plant species with different leaf features and comparing the diversity and abundance of the mites found.
One Hundred and One Domatia Is there a relationship between leaf fauna diversity and leaf characteristics?
Amy Luckhurst, Edward Perkins, Vuyisile Mpofu, James Smyth, Oly Hall, Kiara Kealoha, Dana Lynn Handy – University of Otago – Ecology 211 2014
Methods
IN FIELD:
10 tree species were selected for sampling.
Approximate height of tree, location, and weather specimen subject to was recorded. Specimen
identified.
Five leaves selected from the specimen and cut using clippers then put into separate labelled
petri dishes or zip-lock bags.
IN LABORATORY:
Number of domatia, leaf surface area, and number of major veins present per leaf recorded.
Leaves examined under a dissection microscope and domatia cut open using a scalpel.
Different species of mites present were recorded and number of individual mites counted.
Results
References
1. Walter, D. E., & O’Dowd, D. J., 1992. Leaves with domatia have more mites. Ecology: 1514-
1518.
2. Walter, D. E., 1996. Living on leaves: mites, tomenta, and leaf domatia. Annual Review of Entomology 41.1:
101-114.
3. Norton, A. P., English-Loeb, G., & Belden, E., 2001. Host plant manipulation of natural enemies: leaf doma-
tia protect beneficial mites from insect predators. Oecologia 126.4: 535-542.
4. Romero, G. Q., & Benson, W. W., 2005. Biotic interactions of mites, plants and leaf domatia. Current Opin-
ion in Plant Biology 8.4: 436-440.
Images:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domatium
http://plant-phytography.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/domatium-cavity-or-small-pit.html
http://www.wrobelphoto.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1109
http://www.easybloom.com/wordpress/index.php/topics/gardening/page/2
Conclusions
No statistically significant correlation between diversity and leaf
surface are, leaf vein number, or leaf domatia number.
No real testable explanation for the outliers present.
Tree species may have an impact on mite abundance and diversity
but more research is needed.
Ideally a larger sample size or more repetitions would be needed
to confirm any findings or lack thereof.
Acknowledgements
Luke Easton — University of Otago Lab Demonstrator, & Statistics Advisor.
Dunedin Botanic Gardens — Source of plant material for all research conducted
University of Otago Botany Department — Equipment loan and resource access
Ken Miller, University of Otago Zoology Department — Poster presentation advice
Haseeb Randhawa, University of Otago Ecology Teaching Fellow — Everything else
Figure 1 (top): On the X axis more positive values indicate a positive association be-tween domatia and vein number, whereas more negative values indicate a negative association between number of mites and diversity of species. On the Y axis, more positive values indicate a positive association between number of veins, surface area and number of mites, whereas more negative values indicate negative association.
Figure 2 (bottom): On the X axis, more positive values indicate a positive association between number of veins, surface area and number of mites, whereas more negative values indicate negative association. On the Y axis, more positive values indicate a positive association between diversity of species, whereas more negative values
Indicates negative association.
Principal component analysis (PCA) showed overall low correlation between the measured
variables. Low correlation is expected with a small sample size. The possible disadvantages
of conducting PCA with weakly correlated variables were acknowledged. The principal
components 1, 2, and 3 accounted for 95% of the sample variance.
Domatia on a leaf
Eriophyoid in a Domatia
Spider Mite
Red Mite
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