Two new species of Oribatida were found in coastal habitats in South-West Portugal and four remarkable species are redescribed. Chamobates roynortoni sp. n. (Chamobatidae), is described, originating from a coastal bush area of the Ribeira de Aljezur, Algarve. Three remarkable species were recorded in a floodplain alder forest of the Ribeira de Aljezur: Chamobates dentatus Mihelčič, 1956, is redescribed and the recently described Oribatula polytuberculata Ermilov et al., 2012, (Oribatulidae) is figured. In the same habitat large populations of Protoribates hakonensis Aoki, 1994, and P. tohokuensis Fujikawa, 2003 (Haplozetidae), originally described from Japan were found for the first time in Europe. The latter species is closely related to P. robustior (Jacot, 1937) from North America. Protozetomimus behanae sp. n. from a floodplain area of Rio Mondego, North Portugal, is described and compared with congeners. The different taxonomic and systematic opinions on the genus in the literature are discussed, resulting in the proposal that Protozetomimus is a distinct genus of Ceratozetidae.

The octotaxic system of notogaster in poronotic oribatid mites (Acari, Oribatida) usually is represented by two types, either porose areas or saccules. These dermal gland structures are observed as constant for each species (except sexual dimorphism; see below), therefore their type often is used as key character, and in consequence of this, it is used in taxonomy and systematics as diagnostic character for different taxa levels from species to family (Subías 2004, online version 2015; Weigmann 2006; Norton & Behan-Pelletier 2009; Bayartogtokh 2010). However, there are exceptions: for Drymobates silvicola Grandjean, 1930 (Drymobatidae) and Galumna (Atypicogalumna) corpuzrarosae Ermilov, Sandmann, Klarner, Widyastuti & Scheu, 2015 (Galumnidae), a composite octotaxic system is known, including side by side porose areas and saccules in every specimen (Grandjean 1930; Ermilov et al. 2015). Behan-Pelletier (2015) reports several cases of sexual dimorphism of the octotaxic system in Poronota, all with different appearance of porose areas. But for the licneremaeoid Glanderemaeus hammerae Balogh & Csiszár, 1963 (whose familial placement is unclear) a unique sexual dimorphism in octotaxic system is described-males with saccules, females with porose areas (see also Norton et al. 1997).

A main goal of this study was the comparison of type material of Coronoquadroppia monstruosa (Hammer, 1979) from Java with European populations which were supposed by authors to be conspecific. The species identity of most respective European findings with a type specimen can be confirmed. Yet within some populations from Germany, Austria and northern Italy, specimens with morphological variations are present, resembling partly C. gumista (Gordeeva et Tarba, 1990) from the Caucasus in regard of a transversal band in the rostral structure. This and other described modifications are supposed to be individual variability within the species C. monstruosa. A detailed morphological analysis is presented, resulting in the division of the Quadroppia complex into the genera Quadroppia and Coronoquadroppia as first proposed by Ohkubo (1995).

A new species of oribatid mite of the genus Trhypochthoniellus (Oribatida: Trhypochthoniidae) is described from mosses in a swamp of vicinity of Punta Arenas, Chile. Trhypochthoniellus chilensis sp. n. differs from all species of the genus by the presence of monodactylous legs and notogastral setae p 3 , clearly greater distance between c 1 – c 1 than d 1 – d 1 and three pairs of setae on epimeres IV. Comparative morphological analysis of the species and a revised diagnosis of the genus are presented.

Two European oribatid mite species new for Germany are redescribed: Dolicheremaeus dorni (Balogh, 1937) (Otocepheidae) found in Bayrischer Wald in South-East Germany, and Phauloppia nemoralis (Berlese, 1916) (Oribatulidae) from a dry-warm wooded slope of Altmuehl River. Furthermore, a species new for science is described: Oribatella abhorrens spec. nov. from the family Oribatellidae, which was found at the same site as the latter species. The new species is unique within the genus Oribatella since it has a smooth sensillus with a claviform head bearing a spine-like distal appendix.

The oribatid mite populations in the soils of typical habitat types at the Ribeira de Aljezur, Western Algarve in Portugal, are presented with the main objective to detect a synecological structure in relation to habitat types. Five mite communities can be discriminated by means of a correspondence analysis and of the specific abundance values in the habitats: Communities in (1) salt marsh sites in the estuary river zone, (2) a dune meadow, (3) a sandy dune area with low shrubs, (4) coastal bush-land on rocky substrate, (5) a floodplain forest in the limnic river zone. The communities on dune and rocky substrates are less distinct. Ecological preferences and biogeographical distributions of all species are presented and discussed. This actual publication contributes 30 further species, recorded in Portugal for the first time. Altogether, the Portuguese oribatid fauna includes 253 documented species now. From the 28 Iberian species of the current contribution, 14 species are endemic for Portugal. Ten of these species are described originally from the presented material from the area of Ribeiro de Aljezur.

The type species of the genus Lepidozetes singularis Berlese, 1910, is redescribed, using fresh material from Italy, Switzerland and Germany. Mounted specimens from museums were compared: microscope slides of the type series of Berlese (deposited in Florence) and of the Willmann-collection (deposited in Munich). The controversial question of the validity of Lepidozetes conjunctus Schweizer, 1922, is reconsidered using the single original material from Schweizer, a microscope slide with the type specimen. This study confirms that L. conjunctus should be considered a junior synonym of L. singularis. A new species of the genus, Lepidozetes bavaricus n. sp., is described. This second European species was collected in Southern Germany (Altmühltal, Bavaria) in a valley slope with extreme sun-exposure.

The adult instar of the oribatid mite, Galumna obvia (Berlese, 1914), is redescribed in detail, on the basis of specimens from Finland. The morphology of juvenile instars of G. obvia is described and illustrated for the first time, and compared to that of other species of the family Galumnidae. The position of the insertion of the lamellar seta in adults proved variable in studied European populations, being either on or medial to the lamellar line. Since the genera Galumna and Pergalumna are currently distinguished only by the relative positions of the seta and line, specimens of G. obvia in some populations show an intermediate situation between other studied Galumna species - with lamellar seta on or lateral of lamellar line - and Pergalumna with lamellar seta at a distinct distance medially of lamellar line. A detailed reevaluation of the two genera is needed.

The genus Maudheimia Dalenius, 1958 occurs on the Antarctic continent and contains four known species (M. wilsoni Dalenius, 1958;M. petronia Wallwork, 1962; M. marshalli Coetzee, 1997 and M. tanngardenensis Coetzee, 1997). Maudheimia marshalli has 15 pairsof notogastral setae in the adults for which Subías (2004) proposed the genus Multimaudheimia. The other three species have 10 pairsof notogastral setae in the adult stage. The value of “number of notogastral setae” as a single generic character has previously beenshown as insufficient to distinguish a genus. The authors conclude that the genus Multimaudheimia Subías, 2004 is a synonym of Maudheimia. The relationship of Maudheimia is confirmed as a member of Ceratozetoidea in the family Maudheimiidae.

The genus Maudheimia Dalenius, 1958 occurs on the Antarctic continent and contains four known species (M. wilsoni Dalenius, 1958; M. petronia Wallwork, 1962; M. marshalli Coetzee, 1997 and M. tanngardenensis Coetzee, 1997). Maudheimia marshalli has 15 pairs of notogastral setae in the adults for which Subías (2004) proposed the genus Multimaudheimia. The other three species have 10 pairs of notogastral setae in the adult stage. The value of “number of notogastral setae” as a single generic character has previously been shown as insufficient to distinguish a genus. The authors conclude that the genus Multimaudheimia Subías, 2004 is a synonym of Maudheimia. The relationship of Maudheimia is confirmed as a member of Ceratozetoidea in the family Maudheimiidae.

In the slide collection of Oribatida from Carl Willmami and from L. Kneissl, stored in the Zoologische Staatssammlung in Munich, some species have been found which need to be revised. One of this slides refer to '"Oribatella meridionalis" (det. Willmann); the revision of it resulted in synonymization with Oribatella superbiila (Berlese, 1904). A related new species from Germany, Oribatella similesuperbula, spec. nov. is described. Further on a slide with the lable "'Tectoribates latitectus" (det. Willmann) turned out to be a new species, described as Anachipteria dubia, spec. nov., which is compared with A. hoiuardi Berlese, 1908, the senior synonym of

Background: There is a long-standing controversial about how parthenogenetic species can be defined in absence of a generally accepted species concept for this reproductive mode. An integrative approach was suggested, combining molecular and morphological data to identify distinct monophyletic entities. Using this approach, speciation of parthenogenetic lineages was recently demonstrated for groups of bdelloid rotifers and oribatid mites. Trhypochthonius tectorum, an oribatid mite from the entirely parthenogenetic desmonomatan family Trhypochthoniidae, is traditionally treated as a single species in Central Europe. However, two new morphological lineages were recently proposed for some Austrian populations of T. tectorum, and were described as novel subspecies (T. silvestris europaeus) or form (T. japonicus forma occidentalis). We used the morphological and morphometrical data which led to this separation, and added mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences and the chemical composition of complex exocrine oil gland secretions to test this taxonomical hypothesis. This is the first attempt to combine these three types of data for integrative taxonomical investigations of oribatid mites.Results: We show that the previous European species T. tectorum represents a species complex consisting of three distinct lineages in Austria (T. tectorum, T. silvestris europaeus and T. japonicus forma occidentalis), each clearly separated by morphology, oil gland secretion profiles and mitochondrial cox1 sequences. This diversification happened in the last ten million years. In contrast to these results, no variation among the lineages was found in the nuclear 18S rDNA.Conclusions: Our approach combined morphological, molecular and chemical data to investigate diversity and species delineation in a parthenogenetic oribatid mite species complex. To date, hypotheses of a general oribatid mite phylogeny are manifold, and mostly based on single-method approaches. Probably, the integrative approach proposed here can be used to uncover further hidden biodiversity of glandulate Oribatida and help to build up more stable phylogenetic hypotheses in the future.

In the previous chapters we have described a spectrum of different modelling techniques and application examples. Now we return to overarching aspects which are relevant for model developments of different types. Model validity and considerations which conclusions can be derived from model results are presented jointly for different modelling techniques and application fields. Furthermore, we discuss adequate means of communicating the models to others. The overall views are largely theory-based and show that knowledge on the theoretical background can present an important guidance to making the most appropriate use of ecological modelling results.

Acaroid mites (superfamily Acaroidea) are economically and veterinary important pests. We give a list of 5 families 49 genera, and 180 species of acaroid mites recorded in the Northern and Eastern Asia (Asian part of russia, south Korea, Ja- pan, and china). One new genus, Sphecacarus Klimov gen. n., is described. the following new synonymies and combinations are proposed: Tortonia Oudemans, 1911 (= Hyohondania sasa, 1952, syn. nov.); Sancassania polyphyllae (Zachvatkin, 1941) (=Sancassania berteanaeursae Samsiňak, 1970 syn. nov.); Mezorhizoglyphus Kadzhaja, 1966 (= Boletacarus Volgin et Mironov, 1980 syn. nov.); Tortonia kanoi (sasa, 1952) comb. nov. (from Hyohondania), Tortonia jinyunensis (Zhang at Li, 2003) comb. nov. (from Sinosuidasia).