title: Variability in Population Density of House Dust Mites of Bitlis and Muş, Turkey.
abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the number of house dust mites/g dust and different physical and environmental variables. A total of 1,040 house dust samples were collected from houses in Bitlis and Muş Provinces, Turkey, between May 2010 and February 2012. Overall, 751 (72.2%) of dust samples were mite positive. The number of mites/g dust varied between 20 and 1,840 in mite-positive houses. A significant correlation was detected between mean number of mites and altitude of houses, frequency of monthly vacuum cleaning, number of individuals in the household, and relative humidity. No association was found between the number of mites and temperature, type of heating, existence of allergic diseases, age and structure of houses. A maximum number of mites were detected in summer and a minimum number was detected in autumn.
authors.affiliation: Science and Technology Application and Research Center, Dicle University, Diyarbakır, Turkey (medeni.aykut@dicle.edu.tr), medeni.aykut@dicle.edu.tr.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aykut
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Science Faculty, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey (okerman1@hotmail.com), and.
authors.forename: O K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Erman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Arts & Sciences Faculty, Erzincan University, Erzincan, Turkey (salihdogan_tr@yahoo.com).
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doğan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D006798:Housing; D006813:Humidity; D011156:Population Density; D039981:Pyroglyphidae / Q000254:growth & development*; D012621:Seasons; D013696:Temperature; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D004391:Dust
keywords: acarology; population dynamics; population ecology