The niche concept is central to ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. To assess resource dynamics in biological communities, the most widely used niche metrics are niche breadth and niche overlap. Colwell and Futuyma (1971) were the first to propose niche metrics that incorporated resource distinctness. In their framework, niche breadth and overlap are calculated using either a relative weighting factor ( d_j) or an absolute weighting factor ( δ_j) . Hanski (1978) later introduced an alternative weighting factor ( δ_j^*) , which accounts for both the quality and quantity of resource states in niche calculations. However, metrics based on d_j , δ_j and δ_j^* have inherent mathematical and conceptual limitations. To overcome these issues, the present study introduces modified forms of these factors ( ed_j , eδ_j and eδ_j^* ) and evaluates their performance using eight hypothetical and one empirical (ecological) resource matrix. The findings indicate that niche metrics incorporating the ed_j factor represent the most coherent and biologically meaningful option.

The morphology and ontogeny of Eustigmaeus pinnatus (Kuznetsov) (Trombidiformes: Stigmaeidae) are described based on specimens collected from soil and litter in T & uuml;rkiye. All active developmental stages, including larva, protonymph, deutonymph, tritonymph and adults, are examined in detail. The tritonymphal stage, which has rarely been reported in the genus, is documented and characterized. Diagnostic morphological features of each stage are provided, with particular emphasis on the development of idiosomal shields, coxisternal organization, and leg and gnathosomal setation, as well as aggenital configuration. Ontogenetic changes in setation are analysed, and their taxonomic significance is discussed. Comparative assessments of E. pinnatus with E. jiangxiensis Hu, Chen & Huang and E. turcicus Do & gbreve;an & Ayy & imath;ld & imath;z are also presented. Th e results contribute to a better understanding of character development within the genus.

A new species of the genus Storchia (Stigmaeidae), S. brevisetosa sp. nov., is morphologically described herein based on protonymph, deutonymph, male and female specimens collected from Türkiye, with original drawings of the species also presented. The female of the new species is distinguished from the known species by the presence of three pairs of setae on the genital shields, a distinctly shorter setae ve and different measurement lengths and ratios of some dorsal body setae. Storchia (=Apostigmaeus) aegyptiaca (Soliman & Gomaa, 1986), should be regarded as a nomen nudum.

This study presents morphologically the distinctive characteristics of the adults and all immature stages of Eustigmaeus absens Doğan. Some asymmetrical and numerical variations in the body setae of this species are also presented. E. absens, in addition to other months, was collected from frozen moss moulds in the winter months (November, December and January). This means that this frost-resistant species possesses the capacity to tolerate the formation of ice in its tissues. Additionally, the Turkish specimens previously identified as Eustigmaeus schusteri (Summers & Price) were evaluated and found to belong to E. parakauaiensis Kapaxidi, Stathakis & Papadoulis. Furthermore, additional specimens of E. vacuus Doğan were collected from the Karasu Valley (Türkiye). The morphological characteristics of these specimens are consistent with previous records, although a barely visible lateral incision on the hysterosomal shield was observed in one specimen, suggesting an intraspecific variation.

Mites are known to attach to and parasitize sand flies, potentially affecting host survival, development and reproductive capacity. In this study, we aimed to identify and report two mite species found on the field collected sandflies during a comprehensive seasonal activity study carried out in two provinces of T & uuml;rkiye. A total of 4 3 mite specimens were recovered from 25 individual sand flies. Two mite species Eustigmaeus johnstoni Zhang & Gerson (Stigmaeidae) and Biskratrombium aff. coineaui Fain & Izri (Microtrombidiidae) were identified . This represents the first record on the presence of ectoparasitic B. aff. coineaui on adult females of Phlebotomus alexandri and P. sergenti, and the first to report of this mite species from T & uuml;rkiye. Although the effects of parasitic mites on sand fly populations remain unclear, it is likely that they utilize the host's limited resources, thereby potentially compromising the host's reproductive potential. Further experimental investigation into these specific host-parasite dynamics is essential to fully elucidate the ecological interactions and their potential implications for vector management.

Four active postembryonic developmental stages are often present in members of the family Stigmaeidae: the six-legged larva, the eight-legged protonymph, deutonymph, and the adult. This study provides a new description of the tritonymphal stage of Eustigmaeus jiangxiensis Hu, Chen & Huang in the Stigmaeidae. The distinguishing characteristics of the adults and the three nymphal stages are delineated. The occurrence of the tritonymphal stage in the stigmaeids is unusual. This study marks the second occasion, the first being in Stigmaeus elongatus Berlese. In addition, Ledermuelleriopsis giresuniensis Doğan & Ayyıldız is proposed as a junior synonym of Eustigmaeus jiangxiensis Hu, Chen & Huang.

Neophyllobius Berlese is the largest genus of the family Camerobiidae Southcott, with about 140 species to date. In this study, the presence of numerical variations in setae pdx of Neophyllobius yunusi Akyol and Koç, known from Türkiye, has been demonstrated for the first time.

Two new species of Eustigmaeus Berlese (Acari: Stigmaeidae), E. incisus n. sp. and E. paraincisus n. sp. are described and illustrated from T & uuml;rkiye. This paper presents compile checklist of the valid Eustigmaeus species. Eustigmaeus sphagneticolus Cooreman stat. nov., originally described as a subspecies of E. ottavii by Cooreman in 1943, is regarded as a separate species. Eustigmaeus aminiae (Nazari and Khanjani) n. comb.. and E. indiscretus (D & ouml;nel and Do & gbreve;an) n. comb.. (from Ledermuelleriopsis Willmann) have a partially detached hysterosomal shield. Currently, we consider that these species belong more comfortably in Eustigmaeus than in Ledermuelleriopsis, where they are considered transitional species between the genera Eustigmaeus and Ledermuelleriopsis.

The genus Cryptofavognathus is represented with only two species: Cryptofavognathus anatolicus Doğan & Dönel and C. afyonensis (Koç & Akyol). The third species, Cryptofavognathus bellus sp. nov., was detected during a faunistic study on raphignathoid mites of Sansa Gorge (Türkiye) and described here. This paper also presents a current species list for the family Cryptognathidae Oudemans, with the following taxonomic recommendation in the genus Favognathus Luxton: Favognathus aegyptiaca (Fawzy, Khalil & Yassin) and Favognathus rosetta (Fawzy, Khalil & Yassin) described from Egypt should be considered species inquirendae due to their inadequate diagnostic characteristics and poor descriptions.

The reaction paper provides a brief response and critique Khan et al.’s (2023) proposal categorisation about dividing four subgenera of the genus Raphignathus Dugès. The present work contains following nomenclatural recommendation in Raphignathus: (1) Raphignathus bengalensis Modak, 1991 and R. sayedi Gomaa and Hassan, 1986 are considered here as nomina nuda due to no formally publishing. (2) Raphignathus curtipilus Berlese, 1888 is transferred to the genus Eustigmaeus Berlese. (3) Raphignathus striatus Trägardh, 1904 is moved to the genus Prostigmaeus? Kuznetsov in Stigmaeidae based on their original descriptions and illustrations. This paper also presents a current species list for the family Raphignathidae Kramer, with a new country (Türkiye) recorded species and a case of numerical variation in its external suranal setae.

Mortazavi et al. (2018) described the family Dytiscacaridae Hajiqanbar and Lindquist and placed it in the superfamily Raphignathoidea in the cohort or hyporder Raphignathina. We now consider that this family should be recognised as a separate superfamily within the Raphignathina, based on a detailed comparison with the other superfamilies in this group.

As new species are described, taxonomic modifications or revisions are made and distributional data are increased, the checklists are frequently updated regularly. The present paper is a comprehensive supplementary document that aims to list the current species of mites (Acari) found in Türkiye. The species list is arranged alphabetically orders and includes the published records. According to the current information, among the 1241 taxa, 241 belong to the Mesostigmata, 19 to the Ixodida, 728 to the Trombidiformes and 253 to the Sarcoptiformes. This supplement might be a valuable resource for researchers and ecologists interested in understanding the biodiversity of mites in this region.

With more than 130 species, Eustigmaeus Berlese is one of the most diverse genera in the family of Stigmaeidae. The genus has a worldwide distribution and is found in all zoogeographic regions with the exception of Antarctica. The adult female, adult male, deutonymph, protonymph, and larva of Eustigmaeus anauniensis (Canestrini) are known till now, but the immature male stage is unknown. In this study, five deutonymph male specimens of E. anauniensis were found in Türkiye. The description, illustrations of deutonymph males of E. anauniensis, and its measurements of some body parts were made. This is the first record of deutonymph male of E. anauniensis.

3D chitin was obtained from the mite species Eustigmaeus absens Doğan (Acari: Stigmaeidae) by chemical method and silver nanoparticles were decorated on the obtained chitin. The resulting chitins were characterized by using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and their antibacterial activities were evaluated. It was determined that the obtained chitin from E. absens contains carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O) elements and trace amount of calcium (Ca) element. The characteristic amide-I and amide-II bands for α-chitin were observed by ATR-FTIR analysis. SEM images revealed that the surface of the chitin consists of macropores, micropores and broken nanofibers. TEM analysis showed that the sizes of silver nanoparticles differed between 6-20 nm. Images taken from the stereo microscope and the phase-contrast equipped light microscope showed that the chitin was obtained without disturbing the 3D structure of the organism. In addition, it was defined that silver nanoparticle decorated chitin exhibited antibacterial activities against the bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213.

Adult females and males of Caligonella brevia sp. nov. (Caligonellidae) are described and illustrated from mosses in an oak forest at the Karasu Valley in Türkiye. The new species has the following distinctive combination of characters: dorsal idiosomal shield absent, two pairs of ocelli on prodorsum, ventral idiosoma with a shield-like unstriated area between coxae, one pair of pseudanal setae on anal shields, genital setae absent, genu I bearing solenidion κ, the outer solenidion on tibia I noticeably longer than inner solenidion. This paper also contains comments on some members of the genera Molothrognathus Summers & Schlinger and Neognathus Willmann. In this sense, the names of Neognathus attiahi Soliman & Gomaa, Neognathus oteifi Soliman & Gomaa, Molothrognathus platelettus Soliman & Gomaa and Molothrognathus seuzius Soliman & Gomaa are considered as nomina nuda.

Sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) are biological vectors for Leishmania species, which are health problems for humans and animals, bacteria such as Bartonella baciliformis, and various viruses belonging to the arboviruses such as Phlebovirus, the families Flaviviridae and Reoviridae. They are also known to be in contact with entomoparasites, such as various nematodes, mites and fungi. For a faunistic study, sand flies were collected by CDC light traps set up in various localities within the scope of two separate field studies carried out in Muğla and Adana provinces, Türkiye. During this study, two ectoparasitic mite species, Eustigmaeus johnstoni Zhang and Gerson on Phlebotomus tobbi Adler, Theodor and Lourie in Muğla province and Biskratrombium persicum Majidi, Hahiqanbar and Saboori (Microtrombidiidae) on Phlebotomus alexandri (Sinton, 1928) in Adana province, were observed from Türkiye. More detailed studies are needed since there are not enough studies about parasitic mites belonging to different families that can infest sand flies, their hosts, and the damage caused by these mites.

Eustigmaeus segnis (Koch, 1836) (Stigmaeidae) (Fig. 1) has a widespread distribution and was recorded from many countries including Turkey (Fan et al. 2016; Doğan et al. 2018a; Doğan 2019). This species can be recognized by having dorsal dimples in uniform size, dorsal body setae long, falciform with marginal spinules, dorsal setae c1 widely spaced in both sexes, metasternal shield fused with (Fig. 2A) or partly separated from endopodal shields (Fig. 2B) in female and a pair of aggenital setae in both sexes (Doğan 2005; Bayrak et al. 2019).

This paper provides an overview of the research on the family Cheyletidae of Turkey with a list of cheyletid species known from Turkey. For now, this family is represented by 35 valid species and one species inquirenda, Apodicheles heteropalpus (Mégnin) in 20 genera in Turkey. Some setal variations in two species, Cheletomimus (Hemicheyletia) bregetovae (Volgin) and Cheyletus trouessarti Oudemans were reported herein. Two previously misidentified species from Turkey, Cheletomimus (Hemicheyletia) wellsi (Baker) and Columbicheyla macroflabellata Thewke & Enns were corrected as Cheletomimus (Hemicheyletia) bregetovae (Volgin) and Microcheyla granifera Kuznetzov, respectively. This work presents the first records of three species, Acaropsella rohdendorfi (Volgin), Cunliffella variegata (Barilo) and Lepidocheyla caucasica Volgin from Turkey. This is the first report on the occurrence of the genus Cunliffella Volgin in Turkey. The presence of newly recorded species indicates that Turkey has diverse cheyletid species which is still waiting to be discovered. This study also includes comments on some members of the genera Lepidocheyla and Cheletomimus Oudemans. In this regard, the name Lepidocheyla solimani Zaher & Hassan 1986 is considered as nomen nudum.

Sennertia is a diverse and widely distributed genus of mites within the family Chaetodactylidae, and the most successful group of mites in establishing phoretic relationships with bees. Although 77 valid species of Sennertia are known in the world, only two species, Sennertia (Sennertia) gargantua Zachvatkin and Sennertia (S.) zhelochovtsevi Zachvatkin have been recorded from Turkey. But, these two bee-associated species have not been noticed and not listed in the studies on mite fauna of Turkey. OConnor & Klimov in 2003 and Klimov & OConnor in 2008 stated that the distribution information of Sennertia (S.) gargantua in Turkey was probably an error. This paper reports the presence of Sennertia (S.) gargantua on a Carpenter bee in Turkey with an additional new record of the genus from Turkey, viz. Sennertia (S.) cerambycina (Scopoli). In the present work, a key to the known species for Turkey is also provided. It is noticed that genital setae are duplicated on the right side of an examined specimen of Sennertia (S.) gargantua. In the genus, some variations and local anomalies have been previously recorded; however, no abnormalities of the genital setae in Sennertia have been reported.

Raphignathus gracilis (Rack, 1962) (Raphignathidae) is a widely distributed species and has been recorded from many countries including Turkey (Koç & Ayyıldız 1996; Doğan 2003, 2019; Beron 2020; Mohammad-Doustaresharaf & Kazemi 2022). It can be recognized by having 2 setae on palp femur, 2 pairs of setae on interscutal membrane of idiosoma, no obvious small platelets posteriad of median podosomal shield, 3 pairs of genital setae and 3 setae on femur IV in female (Fan & Yin 2000; Doğan et al. 2019).