DOCSLIB.ORG

Diversity of Litter Spiders (Araneae) in a Successional Douglas-Fir Forest in British Columbia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Diversity of Litter Spiders (Araneae) in a Successional Douglas-Fir Forest in British Columbia DIVERSITY OF LITTER SPIDERS (ARANEAE) IN A SUCCESSIONAL DOUGLAS-FIR FOREST IN BRITISH COLUMBIA by LISA J. BRUMWELL B.A., The University of British Columbia, 1994. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October 1996 ©Lisa J. Brumwell, 1996 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of .Zooi-p The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT Litter spiders were collected at two locations by pitfall trapping: Victoria Watershed South, and Koksilah, located on south-eastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Sites were in Douglas-fir forest (in the Coastal Western Hemlock region) and contained four forest successional stages: Regeneration (3-8 years), Immature (25-45 years), Mature (65-85 years), and Old-Growth (>200 years). Thirty-two species were collected in families selected to represent litter spiders. Several of the collected species are listed as potentially rare and endangered in British Columbia. The collection of Zora hespera is the first record of the family Zoridae in Canada. Intraspecific comparisons revealed three distinct distribution patterns: generalists, regeneration specialists, and intermediate forest specialists (spiders prefering the Immature and Mature successional stages). These patterns can be related to biological information regarding individual species. Species richness measures and diversity indices indicated that the regeneration sites have the greatest species richness. There was no significant difference between the remaining three successional stages. Factors affecting the distribution of spider species in the forest litter are discussed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Hi LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x INTRODUCTION 1 MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area 8 Traps and Trap Placement 9 S orting and Identification 12 Methods of Data Analysis Species Abundance Plotting 14 Intraspecific Comparisons 15 Diversity Indices 16 Similarity Coefficients and Cluster Analysis 16 RESULTS Number of Species 17 Species Abundance Models 17 Intraspecific Comparisons 17 Generalists 22 Regeneration Specialists 22 Intermediate Forest Specialists 30 Unresolved 30 Forest Successional Stage Comparisons Diversity Indices 36 Similarity Coefficients and Cluster Analysis 38 TABLE OF CONTENTS: Continued DISCUSSION Pitfall Trapping Methodology 41 Species Abundance Models 42 Intraspecific Comparisons 43 Generalists 43 Regeneration Specialists 45 Intermediate Forest Specialists 50 Unresolved Species 51 Uncommon Species 51 Forest Successional Stage Comparisons Diversity Indices 52 Similarity Coefficients and Cluster Analysis 54 Rare and Endangered Species 54 GENERAL DISCUSSION Factors Affecting Litter Spider Distribution 56 Dispersal Ability 56 Habitat Conditions 57 Structural Components 57 Climatic Components 59 Nutritional Components 60 SUMMARY 63 LITERATURE CITED 65 APPENDIX A 72 APPENDIX B 73 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Pitfall trap collection dates. Table 2. List of spider families selected for specimen identification to species. Table 3. Total species collected - arranged according to distribution patterns. Table 4. Number of species, corrected number of species E(S)i67, with SD, and the Shannon- Wiener index (FT) for Victoria Watershed and Roksilah at all successional stages. Table 5. Number of species, and the Shannon-Wiener index (FT) comparing Victoria Watershed and Koksilah. Table 6. Matrix of the Simplified Morisita-Horn Index of Similarity Coefficients for Victoria Watershed and Koksilah at all successional stages. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Locations of the forest chronosequences (referred to as Victoria Watershed South and Koksilah) where the ecological studies took place. Figure 2. Example of the plot layout and subplot assignments provided by the Canadian Forest Service. Circled areas numbered 1-8 were used for spider collection. Figure 3a. Species rank/abundance graph of the regeneration stage of Victoria Watershed and Koksilah site. Abundance of each species is plotted on a logarithmic scale against the species rank, ordered from most abundant to least abundant species. Figure 3b. Species rank/abundance graph of the immature stage of Victoria Watershed and Koksilah site. Abundance of each species is plotted on a logarithmic scale against the species rank, ordered from most abundant to least abundant species. Figure 3c. Species rank/abundance graph of the mature stage of Victoria Watershed and Koksilah site. Abundance of each species is plotted on a logarithmic scale against the species rank, ordered from most abundant to least abundant species. Figure 3d. Species rank/abundance graph of the old-growth stage of Victoria Watershed and Koksilah site. Abundance of each species is plotted on a logarithmic scale against the species' rank, ordered from most abundant to least abundant species. Figure 4a. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Antrodiaetus pacificus (Simon) trapped in each successional stage at the Victoria Watershed site. The Kruskal- Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 4b. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Antrodiaetus pacificus (Simon) trapped in each successional stage at the Koksilah site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 5a. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Cicurina simplex Simon trapped in each successional stage at the Victoria Watershed site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. vi Figure 5b. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Cicurina simplex Simon trapped in each successional stage at the Koksilah site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non- parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 6a. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Alopecosa kochii (Keyserling) trapped in each successional stage at the Victoria Watershed site. The Kruskal- Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 6b. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Alopecosa kochii (Keyserling) trapped in each successional stage at the Koksilah site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 7a. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Pardosa wyuta Gertsch trapped in each successional stage at the Victoria Watershed site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 7b. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Pardosa wyuta Gertsch trapped in each successional stage at the Koksilah site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non- parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 8. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Pardosa vancouveri Emerton trapped in each successional stage at the Victoria Watershed site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line, as determined by a non-parametric multiple comparison test. Figure 9a. Mean number of individuals (with standard error) of Castianeira longipalpa (Hentz) trapped in each successional stage at the Victoria Watershed site. The Kruskal-Wallis test statistic, H, and the statistical probability, P, are the result of intersuccessional stage comparisons. Stages which did not differ from one another are joined with a line,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Checklist of the Non -Acarine Arachnids
    Original Research A CHECKLIST OF THE NON -A C A RINE A R A CHNIDS (CHELICER A T A : AR A CHNID A ) OF THE DE HOOP NA TURE RESERVE , WESTERN CA PE PROVINCE , SOUTH AFRIC A Authors: ABSTRACT Charles R. Haddad1 As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) in conserved areas, arachnids Ansie S. Dippenaar- were collected in the De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. The Schoeman2 survey was carried out between 1999 and 2007, and consisted of five intensive surveys between Affiliations: two and 12 days in duration. Arachnids were sampled in five broad habitat types, namely fynbos, 1Department of Zoology & wetlands, i.e. De Hoop Vlei, Eucalyptus plantations at Potberg and Cupido’s Kraal, coastal dunes Entomology University of near Koppie Alleen and the intertidal zone at Koppie Alleen. A total of 274 species representing the Free State, five orders, 65 families and 191 determined genera were collected, of which spiders (Araneae) South Africa were the dominant taxon (252 spp., 174 genera, 53 families). The most species rich families collected were the Salticidae (32 spp.), Thomisidae (26 spp.), Gnaphosidae (21 spp.), Araneidae (18 2 Biosystematics: spp.), Theridiidae (16 spp.) and Corinnidae (15 spp.). Notes are provided on the most commonly Arachnology collected arachnids in each habitat. ARC - Plant Protection Research Institute Conservation implications: This study provides valuable baseline data on arachnids conserved South Africa in De Hoop Nature Reserve, which can be used for future assessments of habitat transformation, 2Department of Zoology & alien invasive species and climate change on arachnid biodiversity.
    [Show full text]
  • Biogeography of the Caribbean Cyrtognatha Spiders Klemen Čandek1,6,7, Ingi Agnarsson2,4, Greta J
    www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Biogeography of the Caribbean Cyrtognatha spiders Klemen Čandek1,6,7, Ingi Agnarsson2,4, Greta J. Binford3 & Matjaž Kuntner 1,4,5,6 Island systems provide excellent arenas to test evolutionary hypotheses pertaining to gene fow and Received: 23 July 2018 diversifcation of dispersal-limited organisms. Here we focus on an orbweaver spider genus Cyrtognatha Accepted: 1 November 2018 (Tetragnathidae) from the Caribbean, with the aims to reconstruct its evolutionary history, examine Published: xx xx xxxx its biogeographic history in the archipelago, and to estimate the timing and route of Caribbean colonization. Specifcally, we test if Cyrtognatha biogeographic history is consistent with an ancient vicariant scenario (the GAARlandia landbridge hypothesis) or overwater dispersal. We reconstructed a species level phylogeny based on one mitochondrial (COI) and one nuclear (28S) marker. We then used this topology to constrain a time-calibrated mtDNA phylogeny, for subsequent biogeographical analyses in BioGeoBEARS of over 100 originally sampled Cyrtognatha individuals, using models with and without a founder event parameter. Our results suggest a radiation of Caribbean Cyrtognatha, containing 11 to 14 species that are exclusively single island endemics. Although biogeographic reconstructions cannot refute a vicariant origin of the Caribbean clade, possibly an artifact of sparse outgroup availability, they indicate timing of colonization that is much too recent for GAARlandia to have played a role. Instead, an overwater colonization to the Caribbean in mid-Miocene better explains the data. From Hispaniola, Cyrtognatha subsequently dispersed to, and diversifed on, the other islands of the Greater, and Lesser Antilles. Within the constraints of our island system and data, a model that omits the founder event parameter from biogeographic analysis is less suitable than the equivalent model with a founder event.
    [Show full text]
  • Spiders (Araneae) of Stony Debris in North Bohemia
    Arachnol. Mitt. 12:46-56 Basel, Dezember 1996 Spiders (Araneae) of stony debris in North Bohemia o v v Vlastimil RUZICKA & Jaromfr HAJER Abstract: The arachnofauna was studied at five stony debris sites in northern Bohemia. In Central Europe, the northern and montane species inhabiting cold places live not only on mountain tops and peat bogs but also on the lower edges of boulder debris, where air streaming through the system of inner compartments gives rise to an exceedingly cold microclimate. At such cold sites, spiders can live either on bare stones (Bathyphantes simillimus, Wubanoides ura/ensis), or in the rich layers of moss and lichen (Dip/oeentria bidentata). Kratoehviliella bieapitata exhibits a diplostenoecious occurrence in stony debris and on tree bark. Latithorax faustus and Theonoe minutissima display diplostenoecious occurrence in stony debris and on peat bogs. The occurrence of the species Seotina eelans in the Czech Republic was documented for the first time. Key words: Spiders, stony debris, microclimate, geographic distribution. INTRODUCTION Stony debris constitute, in Central Europe, island ecosystems which have remained virtually intact over the entire Holocene. Due to the unfeasibility of utilization, stony debris areas are among the few ecosystems that have only minimally been affected by man. In bulky accumulations, air can flow through the system of internal spaces. In this way, cold air can accumulate in the lower part of the tal us, so that ice can form and persist there until late spring. This phenomenon, well known from the Alp region (FURRER 1966), occurs widely in North Bohemia (KUBAT 1971). Owing to the specific substrate and microclimate, stony debris areas are inhabited by specific plant (SADLO & KOLBEK 1994) and animal communities, contributing thus o v v significantly to the biodiversity of the landscape (RUZICKA 1993a).
    [Show full text]
  • Cryptic Species Delimitation in the Southern Appalachian Antrodiaetus
    Cryptic species delimitation in the southern Appalachian Antrodiaetus unicolor (Araneae: Antrodiaetidae) species complex using a 3RAD approach Lacie Newton1, James Starrett1, Brent Hendrixson2, Shahan Derkarabetian3, and Jason Bond4 1University of California Davis 2Millsaps College 3Harvard University 4UC Davis May 5, 2020 Abstract Although species delimitation can be highly contentious, the development of reliable methods to accurately ascertain species boundaries is an imperative step in cataloguing and describing Earth's quickly disappearing biodiversity. Spider species delimi- tation remains largely based on morphological characters; however, many mygalomorph spider populations are morphologically indistinguishable from each other yet have considerable molecular divergence. The focus of our study, Antrodiaetus unicolor species complex which contains two sympatric species, exhibits this pattern of relative morphological stasis with considerable genetic divergence across its distribution. A past study using two molecular markers, COI and 28S, revealed that A. unicolor is paraphyletic with respect to A. microunicolor. To better investigate species boundaries in the complex, we implement the cohesion species concept and employ multiple lines of evidence for testing genetic exchangeability and ecological interchange- ability. Our integrative approach includes extensively sampling homologous loci across the genome using a RADseq approach (3RAD), assessing population structure across their geographic range using multiple genetic clustering analyses that include STRUCTURE, PCA, and a recently developed unsupervised machine learning approach (Variational Autoencoder). We eval- uate ecological similarity by using large-scale ecological data for niche-based distribution modeling. Based on our analyses, we conclude that this complex has at least one additional species as well as confirm species delimitations based on previous less comprehensive approaches.
    [Show full text]
  • Oak Woodland Litter Spiders James Steffen Chicago Botanic Garden
    Oak Woodland Litter Spiders James Steffen Chicago Botanic Garden George Retseck Objectives • Learn about Spiders as Animals • Learn to recognize common spiders to family • Learn about spider ecology • Learn to Collect and Preserve Spiders Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Arthropoda Subphyla - Mandibulata Chelicerata Class - Arachnida Orders - Acari Opiliones Pseudoscorpiones Araneae Spiders Arachnids of Illinois • Order Acari: Mites and Ticks • Order Opiliones: Harvestmen • Order Pseudoscorpiones: Pseudoscorpions • Order Araneae: Spiders! Acari - Soil Mites Characteriscs of Spiders • Usually four pairs of simple eyes although some species may have less • Six pair of appendages: one pair of fangs (instead of mandibles), one pair of pedipalps, and four pair of walking legs • Spinnerets at the end of the abdomen, which are used for spinning silk threads for a variety of purposes, such as the construction of webs, snares, and retreats in which to live or to wrap prey • 1 pair of sensory palps (often much larger in males) between the first pair of legs and the chelicerae used for sperm transfer, prey manipulation, and detection of smells and vibrations • 1 to 2 pairs of book-lungs on the underside of abdomen • Primitively, 2 body regions: Cephalothorax, Abdomen Spider Life Cycle • Eggs in batches (egg sacs) • Hatch inside the egg sac • molt to spiderlings which leave from the egg sac • grows during several more molts (instars) • at final molt, becomes adult – Some long-lived mygalomorphs (tarantulas) molt after adulthood Phenology • Most temperate
    [Show full text]
  • Bexar County Karst Invertebrates Draft Recovery Plan
    Bexar County Karst Invertebrates Draft Recovery Plan March 2008 Bexar County Karst Invertebrates Draft Recovery Plan BEXAR COUNTY KARST INVERTEBRATES DRAFT RECOVERY PLAN Southwest Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Albuquerque, New Mexico March 2008 Approved: ___DRAFT_______________________________________ Regional Director, Southwest Region Date U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Concur: __DRAFT____________________________________________ Executive Director Date Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ii Bexar County Karst Invertebrates Draft Recovery Plan DISCLAIMER Recovery plans delineate reasonable actions that the best available science indicates are necessary to recover or protect listed species. Plans are published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), but are sometimes prepared with the assistance of recovery teams, contractors, state agencies, and others. Objectives will be attained and any necessary funds made available subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need to address other priorities. Recovery plans are guidance and planning documents only. Identification of an action to be implemented by any private or public party does not create a legal obligation beyond existing legal requirements. Nothing in this plan should be construed as a commitment or requirement that any Federal agency obligate or pay funds in contravention of the Anti-Deficiency Act (U.S.C. 1341) or any other law or regulation. Recovery plans do not necessarily represent the views or the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in the plan formulation, other than the Service. They represent the official position of the Service only after the plan has been signed by the Regional Director as approved.
    [Show full text]
  • North American Spiders of the Genera Cybaeus and Cybaeina
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by The University of Utah: J. Willard Marriott Digital... BULLETIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH Volume 23 December, 1932 No. 2 North American Spiders of the Genera Cybaeus and Cybaeina BY RALPH V. CHAMBERLIN and WILTON IVIE BIOLOGICAL SERIES, Vol. II, No. / - PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY THE UNIVERSITY PRESS UNIVERSITY OF UTAH SALT LAKE CITY A Review of the North American Spider of the Genera Cybaeus and Cybaeina By R a l p h V. C h a m b e r l i n a n d W i l t o n I v i e The frequency with which members of the Agelenid genus Cybaeus appeared in collections made by the authors in the mountainous and timbered sections of the Pacific coast region and the representations therein of various apparently undescribed species led to the preparation of this review of the known North American forms. One species hereto­ fore placed in Cybaeus is made the type of a new genus Cybaeina. Most of our species occur in the western states; and it is probable that fur­ ther collecting in this region will bring to light a considerable number of additional forms. The drawings accompanying the paper were made from specimens direct excepting in a few cases where material was not available. In these cases the drawings were copied from the figures published by the authors of the species concerned, as indicated hereafter in each such case, but these drawings were somewhat revised to conform with the general scheme of the other figures in order to facilitate comparison.
    [Show full text]
  • Abundance and Community Composition of Arboreal Spiders: the Relative Importance of Habitat Structure
    AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Juraj Halaj for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Entomology presented on May 6, 1996. Title: Abundance and Community Composition of Arboreal Spiders: The Relative Importance of Habitat Structure. Prey Availability and Competition. Abstract approved: Redacted for Privacy _ John D. Lattin, Darrell W. Ross This work examined the importance of structural complexity of habitat, availability of prey, and competition with ants as factors influencing the abundance and community composition of arboreal spiders in western Oregon. In 1993, I compared the spider communities of several host-tree species which have different branch structure. I also assessed the importance of several habitat variables as predictors of spider abundance and diversity on and among individual tree species. The greatest abundance and species richness of spiders per 1-m-long branch tips were found on structurally more complex tree species, including Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirbel) Franco and noble fir, Abies procera Rehder. Spider densities, species richness and diversity positively correlated with the amount of foliage, branch twigs and prey densities on individual tree species. The amount of branch twigs alone explained almost 70% of the variation in the total spider abundance across five tree species. In 1994, I experimentally tested the importance of needle density and branching complexity of Douglas-fir branches on the abundance and community structure of spiders and their potential prey organisms. This was accomplished by either removing needles, by thinning branches or by tying branches. Tying branches resulted in a significant increase in the abundance of spiders and their prey. Densities of spiders and their prey were reduced by removal of needles and thinning.
    [Show full text]
  • Arachnida: Araneae) from the Middle Eocene Messel Maar, Germany
    Palaeoentomology 002 (6): 596–601 ISSN 2624-2826 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/pe/ Short PALAEOENTOMOLOGY Copyright © 2019 Magnolia Press Communication ISSN 2624-2834 (online edition) PE https://doi.org/10.11646/palaeoentomology.2.6.10 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E7F92F14-A680-4D30-8CF5-2B27C5AED0AB A new spider (Arachnida: Araneae) from the Middle Eocene Messel Maar, Germany PAUL A. SELDEN1, 2, * & torsten wappler3 1Department of Geology, University of Kansas, 1475 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA. 2Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. 3Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Friedensplatz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany. *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] The Fossil-Lagerstätte of Grube Messel, Germany, has Thomisidae and Salticidae (Schawaller & Ono, 1979; produced some of the most spectacular fossils of the Wunderlich, 1986). The Pliocene lake of Willershausen, Paleogene (Schaal & Ziegler, 1992; Gruber & Micklich, produced by solution of evaporites and subsequent collapse, 2007; Selden & Nudds, 2012; Schaal et al., 2018). However, has produced some remarkably preserved arthropod fossils few arachnids have been discovered or described from this (Briggs et al., 1998), including numerous spider families: World Heritage Site. An araneid spider was reported by Dysderidae, Lycosidae, Thomisidae and Salticidae (Straus, Wunderlich (1986). Wedmann (2018) reported that 160 1967; Schawaller, 1982). All of these localities are much spider specimens were known from Messel although, sadly, younger than Messel. few are well preserved. She figured the araneid mentioned by Wunderlich (1986) and a nicely preserved hersiliid (Wedmann, 2018: figs 7.8–7.9, respectively). Wedmann Material and methods (2018) mentioned six opilionids yet to be described, and figured one (Wedmann, 2018: fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Spiders (Araneae) of Churchill, Manitoba: DNA Barcodes And
    Blagoev et al. BMC Ecology 2013, 13:44 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6785/13/44 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Spiders (Araneae) of Churchill, Manitoba: DNA barcodes and morphology reveal high species diversity and new Canadian records Gergin A Blagoev1*, Nadya I Nikolova1, Crystal N Sobel1, Paul DN Hebert1,2 and Sarah J Adamowicz1,2 Abstract Background: Arctic ecosystems, especially those near transition zones, are expected to be strongly impacted by climate change. Because it is positioned on the ecotone between tundra and boreal forest, the Churchill area is a strategic locality for the analysis of shifts in faunal composition. This fact has motivated the effort to develop a comprehensive biodiversity inventory for the Churchill region by coupling DNA barcoding with morphological studies. The present study represents one element of this effort; it focuses on analysis of the spider fauna at Churchill. Results: 198 species were detected among 2704 spiders analyzed, tripling the count for the Churchill region. Estimates of overall diversity suggest that another 10–20 species await detection. Most species displayed little intraspecific sequence variation (maximum <1%) in the barcode region of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene, but four species showed considerably higher values (maximum = 4.1-6.2%), suggesting cryptic species. All recognized species possessed a distinct haplotype array at COI with nearest-neighbour interspecific distances averaging 8.57%. Three species new to Canada were detected: Robertus lyrifer (Theridiidae), Baryphyma trifrons (Linyphiidae), and Satilatlas monticola (Linyphiidae). The first two species may represent human-mediated introductions linked to the port in Churchill, but the other species represents a range extension from the USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Tarantulas in the Pacific Northwest1
    WSU Puyallup REC PLS-108 Updated July 2003 Tarantulas in the Pacific Northwest1 Tarantulas (Fig. 1) in the Pacific Northwest? Well, maybe not like the hairy monsters of the tropics, but some very interesting "atypical" species do occur here. Our species belong to the family Antrodiaetidae. One of our most common spiders is the folding-door spider, Antrodiaetus pacificus (Simon). It is a fairly large species, females ranging from 11 to 13 millimeters in length, males slightly smaller. They are generally dark brown to almost black in color with the abdomen purplish brown. Males are characterized by their long legs, slim bodies, and three tergites (hardened plates) on the abdomen. Females (Fig. 2) are more robust with only one tergite. These spiders excavate burrows in the soil or in damp, rotten wood, digging with a row of spines on each chelicer, known as a ratellum. The six to ten inch deep vertical shafts are lined with silk. The webbing extends beyond ground level as a short collar of camouflaged silk. The turret’s two sides may be drawn in by the occupant, forming two "doors" which meet in the middle. At night, Antrodiaetus assumes a foraging posture with its pedipalps and first pair of legs just touching the rim of silk at the mouth of the tube. In this position, the folding door spider can readily detect an insect moving above ground. The spider will leap out of its burrow with lightning speed, seize its victim, and drop back down, like a terrorizing Jack-in-the-box. When finished with its meal, it will add the insect's dry, dismembered body to a silk-covered trash pile at the bottom of its burrow.
    [Show full text]
  • Araneae: Hahniidae
    ZOBODAT - www.zobodat.at Zoologisch-Botanische Datenbank/Zoological-Botanical Database Digitale Literatur/Digital Literature Zeitschrift/Journal: European Journal of Taxonomy Jahr/Year: 2020 Band/Volume: 0724 Autor(en)/Author(s): Rivera-Quiroz Francisco Andres, Petcharad Booppa, Miller Jeremy A. Artikel/Article: First records and a new genus of comb-tailed spiders (Araneae: Hahniidae) from Thailand with comments on the six-eyed species of this family 51-69 European Journal of Taxonomy 724: 51–69 ISSN 2118-9773 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.724.1157 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2020 · Rivera-Quiroz F.A. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Research article urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F8E5876F-1438-4055-9DB8-656969643176 First records and a new genus of comb-tailed spiders (Araneae: Hahniidae) from Thailand with comments on the six-eyed species of this family Francisco Andrés RIVERA-QUIROZ 1,*, Booppa PETCHARAD 2 & Jeremy A. MILLER 3 1,3 Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Understanding Evolution group, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333CR Leiden, The Netherlands. 1 Institute for Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333BE Leiden, The Netherlands. 2 Faculty of Science and Technology, Thammasat University, Rangsit, Pathum Thani, 12121 Thailand. * Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Email: [email protected] 3 Email: [email protected] 1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:970DAA18-987A-4819-BE46-A3D399F77409 2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:E1480A4E-3FA8-441C-A803-515B8AE7860D 3 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:3B8D159E-8574-4D10-8C2D-716487D5B4D8 Abstract. The family Hahniidae is reported from Thailand for the fi rst time.
    [Show full text]