Living on the Edge: Saltmarsh Spiders and Beetles
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Living on the edge: Saltmarsh spiders and beetles How does a saltmarsh environment influence the distribution of spiders and beetles? by John G Aalders BSc. (University of Tasmania) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an Honours Degree at the School of Land and Food, Discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania (October, 2014). Page ii Declaration This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any tertiary institution, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text of the thesis. Signed: John G Aalders BSc. Date: Citation Aalders, JG (2014): Living on the edge: Saltmarsh spiders and beetles. Bachelor of Science (Honours) thesis, Discipline of Geography and Spatial Sciences, School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania. Page iii Abstract Saltmarshes are an intriguing ecotone representing the transition between the marine and terrestrial environments. Much is understood in terms of zonation and vegetation communities in saltmarshes, however considerably less is understood about their edaphic factors. In Australian saltmarshes, terrestrial arthropod fauna and factors that determine invertebrate assemblages are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to understand the factors that influence the presence of epigeal spiders and beetles in a coastal saltmarsh. The chosen site at Long Point, a saltmarsh on Tasmania’s east coast, included adjacent woodland which enabled expansion of the study to incorporate a full environmental gradient. Moisture, salinity and pH gradients were analysed alongside vegetation community structure. During the 12 month study period 5 606 spiders (37 taxa) and 1 165 beetles (84 taxa) were caught in 141 pitfall traps. Indicator species (spider and beetle) were identified for each vegetation community within the saltmarsh zone and adjacent woodland zone. Spiders and beetles reacted in a similar fashion to edaphic factors and vegetation species. However, the sequential order of importance for spiders was moisture, salinity and vegetation, whereas, the response order for beetles was moisture, vegetation and salinity. Further investigation into the interaction between saltmarsh vegetation species and spider and beetle species will assist in our endeavours to understand the loss or gain of arthropod species due to climate change and sea-level rise. Key words Saltmarsh, landscape features, edaphic factors, vegetation communities, invertebrate assemblages, spiders, beetles, Tasmania Page iv Acknowledgments A project of this scale would not have been possible without the help of many people, and I gratefully acknowledge their assistance. Access to a very special research site was granted by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy with John and Jane Cotton permitting vehicular access. Stuart MacDonald, Colin Sumner, Ross Lucas, Jon Traynor, Christian Mackay and Mel Bottrill gave valuable assistance in the field. Professor Jamie Kirkpatrick and Vishnu Prahalad assisted with vegetation species identification. Dr Kevin Kiernan and Rob Anders contributed technical assistance, Kevin on the site geomorphology and Rob with a real time GPS survey. To those who read drafts and provided suggestions, corrections and the like, Mel Houghton, Christian Mackay, Kate Aalders and Colin Sumner, thank you. The School of Geography and Environmental Studies assisted with vehicle hire, and Dave Green from the School went out of his way to organise field and laboratory supplies, and provide assistance in the environmental laboratory. A special mention goes to Mel Humphries from the School of Maths and Physics. Mel taught me how to use the statistical analysis package R, was always there if I needed guidance with coding and held a genuine interest in my project. Finally, a very special thank you to Dr Peter McQuillan, my supervisor. His untiring enthusiasm for the study, continuous encouragement and support, never wavered over the course of the project. We collected nearly 38 000 invertebrates over 12 months, which Peter identified, many to genus and species level. Peter was constantly surprised with some of the specimens we collected and often expressed “Good grief!” at some of our finds. He was never short on suggestions, maintained an open door and was always happy to discuss the project and read chapters of this thesis. Peter, thank you. Page v Table of Contents Declaration ..................................................................................................................................... iii Citation ........................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... vi Glossary .......................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Saltmarshes ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Tasmanian saltmarsh studies ...................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research project aims.................................................................................................. 4 1.4 Structure of thesis ........................................................................................................ 5 Chapter 2: Research Site ............................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Description ................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Vegetation ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Invertebrates ............................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Intrinsic values ........................................................................................................... 10 2.5 Climate ........................................................................................................................ 12 2.5.1 Precipitation ...................................................................................................... 13 2.5.2 Temperature ...................................................................................................... 14 2.5.3 Wind ................................................................................................................... 15 2.6 Site history .................................................................................................................. 16 Page vi 2.6.1 Past land use ...................................................................................................... 16 2.6.2 Current land use ................................................................................................ 17 2.7 Relevant treaties, legislation and regulations ......................................................... 18 Chapter 3: Research Methods .................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Introduction................................................................................................................ 19 3.2 Transects, stations and identification ...................................................................... 20 3.3 Vegetation communities ........................................................................................... 23 3.3.1 Classification ...................................................................................................... 25 3.3.2 Sampling ............................................................................................................. 25 3.3.3 Analysis of data and presentation of results ................................................. 27 3.4 Landscape features .................................................................................................... 31 3.4.1 Tides ................................................................................................................... 32 3.4.2 Climate ............................................................................................................... 33 3.4.3 Elevation, hill shade and solar radiation ........................................................ 36 3.4.4 Analysis of data and presentation of results ................................................. 38 3.5 Edaphic factors .......................................................................................................... 38 3.5.1 Soil moisture content ....................................................................................... 40 3.5.2 Soil chemistry (EC and pH) ...........................................................................