Distributional patterns of jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) in Australia

Abstract

Aim To analyse observed and predicted distributional patterns of selected salticid genera in Australia and to examine these distributions in the light of the origins and attributes of the fauna. To detect and compare the locations of regional hotspots when measured using different scales.Location Australia.Methods A total of 4104 locality records for specimens of 51 genera were stored in BioLink. Maps of observed and predicted (using bioclim) distributions were prepared for each genus. The predicted distributions were combined to provide estimates of the number of genera likely to be found at each locality in the raster and for each of a set of landscape regions across Australia. The predictions were tested by comparing them with independent data sets.

A fresh framework for the ecology of arid Australia

“…Endemism in Australian invertebrates is high, many groups are Gondwanan (Austin et al, 2004), and the most diverse groups in moister environments (spiders, mites, bugs, beetles, flies and Hymenoptera) are similarly so in the deserts (Yeates et al, 2003). The ants of Australian deserts, and many other invertebrate taxa, are surprisingly speciose (Andersen, 2007;Richardson et al, 2006), although this does not necessarily imply lengthy evolution in the deserts (Byrne et al, 2008). Such marked radiations contrast with the muted speciation of flowering plants.…”

New species ofJacksonoidesWanless, 1988 from Australia (Araneae: Salticidae: Astioida), with a re-definition of the genus

“…Photographs were taken with a Nikon D5200 camera, Nikon SMZ1000 and Zeiss microscopes, and digitally processed with ZoomBrowser and HeliconFocus software. Distributional maps were generated on the basis of field records and species' bioclimatic envelope, using the boxcar version of BioClim (Richardson et al 2006) available in BioLink version 2.0 (Shattuck & Fitzsimmons 2002 Genus Jacksonoides Wanless, 1988Wanless 1988Davies & Żabka 1989: 206, 212;Maddison et al 2008: 53-59.…”

“…Maddison et al 2008) and thousands of new field records and environmental data have enabled biodiversity and biogeographical analyses (e.g. Richardson et al 2006).…”

Habitat Isolation Reduces the Temporal Stability of Island Ecosystems in the Face of Flood Disturbance

“…While the distance between the islands and the Gearagh mainland is small relative to islands studied for IBT (Cardoso et al, 2010;Leese et al, 2010;Patiño et al, 2013), it represents a significant barrier to the dispersal of small ground-dwelling terrestrial invertebrates, such as arachnids, springtails, snails, and other flightless arthropods Klimeš, 2002;Kotze and O'Hara, 2003). Thus, immigration to the islands is only possible through active swimming, passive drift, flight, wind dispersal, and chance events such as passengers on floating debris (Bonte et al, 2007;Fanciulli et al, 2008;Lovei and Sunderland, 1996;Richardson et al, 2006;Southwood, 1962). However, terrestrial species in floodplains are often opportunists, characterised by general habitat requirements and the capacity to quickly recolonise areas after disturbance (Bonn and Kleinwächter, 1999;Bonn et al, 2002;Hildebrandt, 1995;Lambeets, 2009), making the fragmented islands of the Gearagh an ideal metacommunity from which to examine differential extinction-re-colonisation dynamics following flooding.…”