Distribution and community structure of araneocoenoses (Araneae) along an altitudinal gradient on Kozuf Mountain (North Macedonia)

Matevski, Dragan; Cvetkovska-Gjorgjievska, Aleksandra; Prelić, Dana; Hristovski, Slavčo; Naumova, Maria; Deltshev, Christo

doi:10.2478/s11756-020-00474-2

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…These results suggest that spider richness may not only be influenced by macroclimatic conditions, but also by microclimate, which in forests is very much determined by the canopy. The interplay of macro‐ and microclimate is increasingly considered in climate change studies (Bässler, Müller, Dziock, et al, 2010; Dulle et al, 2016; Zellweger et al, 2020) as well as in spider studies (Malumbres‐Olarte et al, 2018; Matevski et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A replicated study on the response of spider assemblages to regional and local processes

Müller

Brandl

Cadotte

et al. 2022

Ecological Monographs

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Understanding species richness variation among local communities is one of the central topics in ecology, but the complex interplay of regional processes, environmental filtering, and local processes hampers generalization on the importance of different processes. Here, we aim to unravel drivers of spider community assembly in temperate forests by analyzing two independent data sets covering gradients in elevation and forest succession. We test the following four hypotheses: (H1) spider assemblages within a region are limited by dispersal, (H2) local environment has a dominant influence on species composition and (H3) resources, and (H4) biotic interactions both affect species richness patterns. In a comprehensive approach, we studied species richness, abundance, taxonomic composition, and trait-phylogenetic dissimilarity of assemblages. The decrease in taxonomic similarity with increasing spatial distance was very weak, failing to support H1. Functional clustering of species in general and with canopy openness strongly supported H2. Moreover, this hypothesis was supported by a positive correlation between environmental and taxonomic similarity and by an increase in abundance with canopy openness. Resource determination of species richness (H3) could be confirmed only by the decrease of species richness with canopy cover. Finally, decreasing species richness with functional clustering indicating effects of biotic interactions (H4) could only be found in one analysis and only in one data set. In conclusion, our findings indicate that spider assemblages within a region are mainly determined by local environmental conditions, while resource availability, biotic interactions and dispersal play a minor role. Our approach shows that both the analysis of different aspects of species diversity and replication of community studies are necessary to identify the complex interplay of processes forming local assemblages.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A replicated study on the response of spider assemblages to regional and local processes

Müller

Brandl

Cadotte

et al. 2022

Ecological Monographs

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“…This matches findings by other studies on arthropods along elevation gradients [ 5 , 77 , 83 , 84 ]. Such changes in species composition along mountain slopes could be attributed to various environmental factors, including climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation but also to the structure and type of the vegetation, and to soil properties [ 85 – 88 ]. In our study, in addition to elevation (as a proxy for several environmental factors), heat load also influenced the species composition in all groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Six groups of ground-dwelling arthropods show different diversity responses along elevational gradients in the Swiss Alps

et al. 2022

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Elevational gradients along mountain slopes offer opportunities to study key factors shaping species diversity patterns. Several environmental factors change over short distances along the elevational gradient in predictable ways. However, different taxa respond to these factors differently resulting in various proposed models for biodiversity patterns along elevational transects. Using a multi-taxa approach, we investigated the effects of elevation, area, habitat and soil characteristics on species richness, individual abundance and species composition of six groups of ground-dwelling arthropods along four transect lines in the Swiss National Park and its surroundings (Eastern Alps). Spiders, millipedes, centipedes, ants, ground beetles and rove beetles were sampled using standardized methods (pitfall traps, cardboard traps, visual search) in 65 sites spanning an elevational range from 1800 to 2750 m a.s.l.. A total of 14,782 individuals comprising 248 species were collected (86 spider, 74 rove beetle, 34 ground beetle, 21 millipede, 19 centipede and 14 ant species). Linear mixed model-analysis revealed that rarefied species richness in five out of the six arthropod groups was affected by elevation (the quadratic term of elevation provided the best fit in most cases). We found three different patterns (linear decrease in centipedes, low elevation plateau followed by a decrease in ants and rove beetles, and midpoint peak in spiders and millipedes). These patterns were only partially mirrored when considering individual abundance. Elevation influenced species composition in all groups examined. Overall, elevation was the most important factor explaining the diversity patterns, while most local habitat and soil characteristics have little influence on these patterns. Our study supports the importance of using multi-taxa approaches when examining effects of elevational gradients. Considering only a single group may result in misleading findings for overall biodiversity.

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Efficacy of trapping techniques (pitfall, ramp and arboreal traps) for capturing spiders

Matevski

Cvetkovska-Gjorgjievska

Prelić

et al. 2020

Biologia

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Distribution and community structure of araneocoenoses (Araneae) along an altitudinal gradient on Kozuf Mountain (North Macedonia)

Cited by 3 publications

References 40 publications

A replicated study on the response of spider assemblages to regional and local processes

A replicated study on the response of spider assemblages to regional and local processes

Six groups of ground-dwelling arthropods show different diversity responses along elevational gradients in the Swiss Alps

Efficacy of trapping techniques (pitfall, ramp and arboreal traps) for capturing spiders

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