Activity-density data reveal community structure of Lycosidae at a Mediterranean shrubland

Igor Armiach, Iris Bernstein, Yaya Tang, Tamar Dayan, Efrat Gavish-Regev

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The structure of an ecological community is shaped by diverse factors and processes, including competition for resources between species with similar ecological niches. Species coexistence in the face of competition is achieved by various mechanisms, such as niche partitioning, e.g. division of resources in space and time. We studied the effect of environmental variables on activity-density of the four lycosid species found in a Mediterranean shrubland in Israel, in the spring of 2012. We tested if spatial and temporal niche partitioning enables coexistence among the four ecologically similar lycosid spiders, using multivariate analyses (RDA, Species Response Curves and Trait Analysis (RLQ)) of vegetation structure, habitat characteristics and land use, as well as time in the season. Activity-density was significantly affected by time in the season and the interaction of time and geophyte density. These findings provide first insights into the life cycles of lycosid species in Mediterranean shrublands in Israel, with spider species of the same size-group reaching their activity peaks at different times.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)16-24
Number of pages9
JournalArachnologische Mitteilungen
Volume2016
Issue number52
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2016

Keywords

  • Alopecosa
  • Coexistence
  • Hogna
  • Israel
  • Lycosa
  • Niche partitioning
  • Pardosa
  • Seasonality
  • Species assemblage
  • Wolf spiders

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Insect Science
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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