Canonical correlation between groups of acarine, fungal and environmental variables in bulk grain ecosystems

Summary Interrelations among acarine, fungal, and environmental components of bulk grain ecosystems were determined by canonical correlation analyses. Twenty-seven variables were measured monthly in samples collected from 2 identical grain bulks in a granary in Winnipeg during the years 1959–67. The relationships between 9 kinds of arthropods and 6 environ mental variables, and between the same arthropods and 12 kinds of actinomycetes and fungi were examined. The maximum canonical correlation between arthropods and environmental factors was 0.35, and between arthropods and microorganisms was 0.28; both are highly significant (p<0.001). In the first analysis correlations of the variables with the canonical variates revealed that correlations of the variables with the canonical variates revealed that sampling location, depth, and temperature are the primary environmental antecedents involved, and the criterion is primarily composed of mitesTarsonemus spp.,Tydeus interruptus and the psocid,Lepinotus reticulatus. In the second analysis the fungiNigrospora sphaerica, Aspergillus spp., andCochliobolus sativus are involved with the mitesCheyletus eruditus andAcarus siro. Generally, the results of these analyses complement the findings of factor and regression analyses of the same data reported earlier. Contribution No. 337 from the Research Station, Canada Department of Agriculture, Winnipeg, Manitoba.