Epigeal Spider (Araneae) Communities in Moist Acidic and Dry Heath Tundra at Toolik Lake, Alaska

Wyant, Karl A.; Draney, Michael L.; Moore, John C.

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-43.2.301

Cited by 17 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This is a commonly reported pattern in northern epigeal spider communities (DaNKs 1981;marusiK and KOPONeN 2002). Other families were less abundant, which agrees with previous findings in this part of Norway (löFFler et al 2001; FiNcH and löFFler 2010) and additional results from arctic regions in Canada (DONDale et al 1997;WyaNt et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Snow cover determines the ecology and biogeography of spiders (Araneae) in alpine tundra ecosystems

Hein¹,

Feilhauer²,

Finch³

et al. 2014

Erdkunde

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This study addresses the spatial distribution of spiders (Araneae) in relation to their environment along multiple ecological and biogeographical gradients. Two study regions representing considerable variation in the alpine climate were sampled for epigeal spiders using pitfall traps: one in the oceanic region and one in the continental region of Norway. We aimed to identify the driving forces for spider species annidation in an alpine tundra ecosystem using a multi-scale approach. During the snow-free season in 2009, we sampled 6,628 adult specimens at 73 sampling locations. These data and additional information from previous studies on spider habitat preferences were used to examine the features of the species' spatial distribution. We analysed our data set using ordination space partitioning (Isopam), which relies on hierarchical partitioning of the ordination space. This method is based on a hierarchical classification of the sampling locations according to their species composition and results in classes that can be distinguished by indicator species. The aggregated classes and their spatial patterns could be linked to snow cover. Local climatic conditions had a stronger influence on spider biogeography than did broad-scale climatic conditions. We identified various indicator species for typical alpine tundra habitats that could be described as either 'chionophobous' or 'chionophilous', depending on the topography-related snow cover at the sites where they occurred. Through this multi-scale approach, this study is the first to demonstrate the importance of snow-cover patterns on the ecology and biogeography of spiders in alpine tundra ecosystems. Zusammenfassung: Diese Studie untersucht Webspinnen (Araneae) und ihre räumlichen Verteilungsmuster in Bezug zu ihrer Umwelt entlang verschiedener ökologischer und biogeographischer Gradienten. Die epigäische Webspinnenfauna zweier alpiner Untersuchungsgebiete, die sich aufgrund ihrer klimatischen Bedingungen erheblich voneinander unterscheiden, wurde mit Hilfe von Bodenfallen untersucht. Eines der Untersuchungsgebiete befand sich im westlichen, ozeanisch geprägten Teil Norwegens, ein weiteres im östlichen, kontinental geprägten Teil Norwegens. Unser Ziel war es, die Kontrollfaktoren für die Einnischung einzelner Webspinnenarten in alpinen Tundraökosystemen unter Verwendung eines multiskaligen Ansatzes zu identifizieren. Während der schneefreien Periode im Jahr 2009 wurden insgesamt 6,628 adulte Individuen an 73 Standorten gefangen. Diese Daten sowie Erkenntnisse früherer Studien wurden verwendet, um Charakteristika der räumlichen Verteilung der vorhandenen Webspinnenarten zu untersuchen. Zur Analyse des Datensatzes wurde der Ordinationsraum der Standorte mit Hilfe des Isopam-Algorithmus unterteilt. Diese Methode basiert auf einer hierarchischen Einteilung der Standorte anhand ihrer Artenzusammensetzung und ergibt Klassen, die über Indikatorarten abgegrenzt werden können. Die aggregierten Klassen und ihre räumliche Verteilung konnten als direkte Folge der Schneebed...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Snow cover determines the ecology and biogeography of spiders (Araneae) in alpine tundra ecosystems

Hein¹,

Feilhauer²,

Finch³

et al. 2014

Erdkunde

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“…Understanding what drives wolf spider population dynamics is important because these predators comprise a large proportion of worldwide spider abundance and diversity (World Spider Catalog, 2018). In the Arctic, this endeavor is even more relevant, because wolf spiders are one of the most widespread and locally abundant arthropods (Bowden and Buddle, 2010;Wyant et al, 2011;Hansen et al, 2016a;Koltz et al, 2018b). In terms of hostparasite dynamics, the absence of parasitism in Zackenberg is especially surprising when considering that this site hosts two wasp species (Wirta et al, 2016) of a genus known to parasitize wolf spiders in North America (Bowden and Buddle, 2012a) and Kangerlussuaq (this study).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Wolf spiders inhabit nearly all terrestrial ecosystems and are dominant predators in the Arctic (Wyant et al, 2011;Bowden et al, 2018;Koltz et al, 2018a). They commonly prey upon decomposers and thereby indirectly affect decomposition rates and nutrient cycling in the tundra (Koltz et al, 2018b) and elsewhere (Lawrence and Wise, 2000;Lensing and Wise, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dominant Arctic Predator Is Free of Major Parasitoid at Northern Edge of Its Range

et al. 2019

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Parasitoids can affect host population dynamics with community-level consequences. In the Arctic, a high diversity of parasitoids relative to potential hosts suggests that parasitoids may exert strong selection pressure on arthropods, but the extent to which these interspecific linkages drive arthropod population dynamics remains unclear. Wolf spiders are dominant and ecologically important arctic predators that experience high rates of egg sac parasitism by wasps. We investigated potential changes in egg sac parasitism rates at two rapidly warming sites in Greenland: a high-arctic site (18 years of data, 1,088 egg sacs) and a low-arctic site (5 years of data, 538 egg sacs). While up to 13% of egg sacs were parasitized annually in the low-arctic site, we found no evidence of it at the high-arctic site despite the presence of congeneric parasitoid species at both locations. The surprising lack of parasitism in the north suggests that populations of this widespread spider species have different eco-evolutionary histories and may respond differentially to climate change.

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“…2016), and in similar studies of Arctic spiders (Koponen 1992; Usher 1992; Pickavance 2006; Wyant et al . 2011). Finer differences within the same ecosite were not apparent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal change and microhabitat association of Arctic spider assemblages (Arachnida: Araneae) on Victoria Island (Nunavut, Canada)

Cameron

Buddle

2017

Can Entomol

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Arctic ecosystems are characterised by a mosaic of distinct microhabitats, which play a key role in structuring biodiversity. Understanding species diversity in relation to these microhabitats, and how communities are structured seasonally, is imperative to properly conserve, monitor, and manage northern biodiversity. Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are dominant arthropod predators in the Arctic, yet the seasonal change in their communities in relation to microhabitat variation is relatively unknown. This research quantified how spider assemblages are structured seasonally and by microhabitat, near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. In 2014, spiders were collected in 240 pan and pitfall traps placed in common microhabitat types (two wet and two dry) from 3 July to 11 August, the active season in the high Arctic. In total, 10 353 spiders from 22 species and four families were collected. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordinations revealed that spider assemblages from wet habitats were distinct from those occurring in drier habitats, but that differences within each of those habitats were not evident. Abundance and diversity was highest in wet habitats and differed significantly from dry habitats; both these variables decreased seasonally. Spider assemblages in the north are structured strongly along moisture gradients, and such data informs planning for future ecological monitoring in the Arctic.

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Epigeal Spider (Araneae) Communities in Moist Acidic and Dry Heath Tundra at Toolik Lake, Alaska

Cited by 17 publications

References 26 publications

Snow cover determines the ecology and biogeography of spiders (Araneae) in alpine tundra ecosystems

Snow cover determines the ecology and biogeography of spiders (Araneae) in alpine tundra ecosystems

Dominant Arctic Predator Is Free of Major Parasitoid at Northern Edge of Its Range

Seasonal change and microhabitat association of Arctic spider assemblages (Arachnida: Araneae) on Victoria Island (Nunavut, Canada)

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