Assemblages of Spiders on Models of Semi-Arid Shrubs

Heikkinen, Michael W.; MacMahon, James A.

doi:10.1636/m02-1

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Ewers and Didham 2007), other studies demonstrate that smallscale architectural changes in individual plants and artificial habitat structures modify the composition of the spider communities within (Hatley and MacMahon 1980;Heikkinen and MacMahon 2004). Notable architectural attributes of microhabitat include substrate height, density, spatial arrangement, and diameter (Ehmann 1994b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patch shape alters spider community structure: links between microhabitat choice and sensitivity to increased edge habitat

Cobbold

Supp

2011

J Insect Conserv

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Increased edge effects in fragmented habitats can affect the abundance of edge-dwelling organisms, but these impacts may depend on the biological attributes of species. Microhabitat choice, a species characteristic that reflects combinations of biological traits, may affect the ability of peripheral species to take advantage of increased edge habitat in the presence of edge effects. In this field study, we built artificial shrub modules designed to encourage web spiders to build webs on the periphery. While modules were identical in volume, they differed in shape (cubic and elongated), so that elongated modules had more edge habitat and were subject to enhanced edge effects. Given that the tangle-web spiders Theridion and Dictyna built webs on module edges and strongly differed in terms of concealment and substrate generalization, two habitat characteristics associated with lower vulnerability to habitat modification, we tested the hypothesis that Theridion, which built webs in more concealed locations and on a greater diversity of substrate configurations in the modules compared to Dictyna, would take better advantage of increased edge habitat. As predicted, Theridion was significantly more abundant on elongated modules whereas the abundance of Dictyna did not respond to shape, even though the change in module shape entailed a similar increase in favored substrate for both spider groups. Our results suggest that the microhabitat associations of organisms may be linked to their propensity to be sensitive to edges, and that a better understanding of these links can improve our ability to predict the effects of habitat modification on biodiversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patch shape alters spider community structure: links between microhabitat choice and sensitivity to increased edge habitat

Cobbold

Supp

2011

J Insect Conserv

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“…Spiders in different families prefer particular densities and orientation of foliage (Robinson 1981;McNett and Rypstra 2000;Heikkinen and MacMahon 2004). Although the orchards and deciduous forest contained different plant Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparisons of the composition of foliage-dwelling spider assemblages in apple orchards and adjacent deciduous forest

2008

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“…34 Spiders are one of the most abundant and species rich 35 generalist predators. They contribute to the biodiversity in natural 36 and agricultural ecosystems (Wise, 1993 prey availability (Heikkinen and MacMahon, 2004;Horváth et al, 40 2005; Batáry et al, 2008;Schirmel et al, 2011 (Clough et al, 2005;Horváth et al, 2013;Schmidt et al, 2008). 44 Moreover, the human disturbance…”

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confidence: 99%

In stable, unmanaged grasslands local factors are more important than landscape-level factors in shaping spider assemblages

Horváth

Magura

Szinetár

et al. 2015

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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A B S T R A C TPrevious studies reported that landscape-level factors are vital to support diversity of spiders in strongly modified arable lands and disturbed habitats such as managed semi-natural grasslands. Cropland management (ploughing, fertilization, and pest management) Q3 and agricultural practices (mowing and grazing) destroy and/or modify regularly the spider assemblages; thus, continuous recolonization from the surrounding landscape is vital to sustain the species pool. On the contrary, we hypothesized that in unmanaged grasslands, the spider assemblages are stable and the importance of recolonization is limited, the local factors become much more important drivers in shaping spider assemblages than landscape-level factors. We tested the importance of local and landscape-level factors on the abundance and species richness of spiders in unmanaged grasslands. At the landscape-level, we found that only the isolation had significant effect on the total abundance, on the abundance of hunting and habitat specialist species, and on the abundance of a frequent species (Gnaphosa mongolica). At the local scale, however, four out of five studied factors influenced significantly the species richness and abundance of spider assemblages and the abundance of two frequent species (Alopecosa psammophila, Berlandia cinerea). Species richness and abundance increased by plant cover, litter cover, and patch size, while decreased by bare ground cover. We found that in unmanaged grasslands, the local factors had vital role in maintaining the spider species richness; this is just the opposite conclusion that was earlier reported for agricultural ecosystems, where landscape-level effects had crucial role providing the species for continuous recolonization.2015 Published by Elsevier B.V. the local scale and the landscape-level scale) in these habitats 33 (Tscharntke et al., , 2012Batáry et al., 2008

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Assemblages of Spiders on Models of Semi-Arid Shrubs

Cited by 29 publications

References 41 publications

Patch shape alters spider community structure: links between microhabitat choice and sensitivity to increased edge habitat

Patch shape alters spider community structure: links between microhabitat choice and sensitivity to increased edge habitat

Comparisons of the composition of foliage-dwelling spider assemblages in apple orchards and adjacent deciduous forest

In stable, unmanaged grasslands local factors are more important than landscape-level factors in shaping spider assemblages

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