Spider diversity across an elevation gradient in Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), Costa Rica

Abstract

Tropical species are less tolerant of large changes in temperature or precipitation than temperate SPECIES (Janzen, 2016). Therefore, in the tropics the impact of elevational diversity gradients is exaggerated with more unique communities across smaller areas than is the case in extra-tropical mountains with greater seasonality and daily fluctuations in abiotic conditions (Janzen, 2016;

Diversity and phylogenetic community structure across elevation during climate change in a family of hyperdiverse neotropical beetles (Staphylinidae)

“…We expected that stressful abiotic conditions at the highest parts of this elevation gradient would impose environmental stress on inhabitants and decrease the diversity of staphylinids and other inhabitants. Some version of this pattern has been documented in ants (Smith et al 2014), spiders (Dolson et al 2020), collembolans and isopods (Smith 2015). However, it was in these high elevation cloud forests where we found the greatest staphylinid abundance and diversity.…”

“…However, it is important to note that the patterns we have shown here remains apparent even after a decade of sampling and so is unlikely to solely due to incomplete sampling and likely speaks to the naturally occurring rarity of most of these species. For other leaf-litter arthropods sampled on the same elevation gradient, the proportion of species known from a single elevation (~70%) is the same as was found for ants (Smith et al 2014), and slightly higher than for spiders (Dolson et al 2020). Finally, it is worth noting that our DNA-based method of species identification is one that reveals genetic discontinuities in morphologically similar specimens that would otherwise be counted together as a single species.…”

“…Regardless of the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, increased species richness with elevation is a novel finding. Based on other ACG taxa (Smith et al 2014, Smith 2015, Dolson et al 2020, Warne et al 2020, and elsewhere (Staunton et al 2011), it is clear that few organisms respond in the same way to the same environmental factors. However, more taxa, and their natural history, should be investigated to better understand the factors affecting arthropod communities along elevational gradients.…”

“…Gutiérrez-Chacón and Ulloa-Chacón (2006) working along an elevational gradient in Colombia found nearly the same percentage of staphylinid singletons as we found here. In fact, most of the taxa studied to date across this particular elevational gradient also demonstrate high turnover including ants, spiders, springtails, isopods and parasitoid wasps (Smith et al 2014, Smith 2015, Dolson et al 2020, Warne et al 2020. A high proportion of singletons can indicate a community that is undersampled (Coddington et al 2009).…”

Functional and genetic diversity changes through time in a cloud forest ant assemblage

“…We sampled ant communities from a cloud forest at the top of 1,500 m tall Volcán Cacao within Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica (10.9329, −85.4530). This single location is part of an ongoing inventory project examining elevational and temporal structure of ants and other leaf‐litter arthropods (Dolson et al., 2020; Smith et al., 2014, 2015). Ants were sampled between 2008 and 2011 using multiple methods, including Malaise traps (Malaise, 1937; Townes, 1972) and were compared to samples from collections made at the same site a decade earlier (1998 to 2000) using Malaise traps only.…”