Inferring global species richness from megatransect data and undetected species estimates

Huber, Bernhard A.; Chao, Anne

doi:10.1163/18759866-20191347

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…A recent statistical analysis of megatransect collecting data has concluded that only about 25-40% of the total global Pholcidae species richness is formally described (Huber & Chao 2019). Applying this percentage to the currently 114 Venezuelan native species available to us (102 described + 12 undescribed), this would mean a total of approximately 280-570 species in Venezuela.…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 98%

On Venezuelan pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae)

Huber

Villarreal

2020

EJT

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We present a comprehensive revision of the pholcid spider collection of M.A. González-Sponga, who between 1998 and 2011 described 22 new genera and 51 new species of Pholcidae from Venezuela. In addition, we treat the pholcid material collected during three expeditions to Venezuela conducted between 2002 and 2020. Of González-Sponga’s pholcid taxa we recognize three genera and 24 species as valid. We describe 43 new species (all from males and females) in one new and 13 previously described genera; four genera are newly recorded for Venezuela. We describe the previously unknown females of 15 species, present new records for 46 previously described species, synonymize one genus and one species, and correct numerous minor errors in previous publications on Venezuelan pholcids. At the generic level, the Venezuelan pholcid fauna now appears fairly well known, but available data on distribution and endemism suggest that many species remain undiscovered and undescribed. Despite the obvious gaps, our data are congruent with previous studies on other taxa that have the highest levels of endemism in the Venezuelan Andes, the Coastal Ranges, and the Guyana Highlands. The Falcón Region in particular shows a complex mosaic of biogeographic relationships with other regions. We provide new biological data on numerous species. We document the first cases of evolutionary microhabitat shifts in the genera Mecolaesthus Simon, 1893 and Priscula Simon, 1893. We document several cases of close congeners sharing localities, usually in slightly to conspicuously different microhabitats, sometimes apparently in identical microhabitats. We document several cases of color polymorphism, mostly intersexual, in Metagonia conica (Simon, 1893) both intersexual and among males. We document further cases of two rare phenomena in Pholcidae: use of specific non-silken structures for retreats (in Pisaboa Huber, 2000) and egg parasitism (in Priscula).

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Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 98%

On Venezuelan pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae)

Huber

Villarreal

2020

EJT

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“…In this regard, a promising option is the use of mega-transects, i.e. much-larger-than-usual (few hundreds up to few thousands meters long) transects joining several study sites from a given region, to explore more general patterns but still resulting from a local scale (Huber and Chao, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Though promising, these mega-transects have been rarely used by community ecologists in tropical and in temperate contexts (but see Luiselli et al 2008;Huber & Chao 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting the structure of turtle assemblages along a megatransect in West Africa

Luiselli

Akani

Ajong

et al. 2020

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Understanding large- and small-scale patterns and the determinants of species richness is central for the study of evolutionary mechanisms. The extent to which species richness in local communities is related to larger-scale processes is a pre-eminent topic in ecological and evolutionary research. To investigate how local and regional species richness are related, we sampled freshwater turtle assemblages in seven localities to represent the variation in ecological conditions along a 90 km south–north megatransect in Benin, West Africa. In each locality, all turtles captured were identified and measured, and the microhabitat in which individual turtles were observed was classified. Based on these data, we used community diversity metrics to compare turtle assemblages. Spatial autocorrelation did not affect our data. For all localities pooled, two species (Pelusios castaneus and Pelomedusa olivacea) were the most common and one species (Trionyx triunguis) was the rarest. Analyses of the commonest and more numerous species showed that the abundance of Pelusios castaneus declined with an increase in latitude and longitude, but the opposite was true for Pelomedusa olivacea. We showed that various characteristics of the microhabitat were significantly correlated with the abundance of the two common species. We found significant but variable south–north gradients in microhabitat use for different turtle species. Our results highlight the importance of studying interactions between local environments, the ecological requirements of each species and their synecological relationships.

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“…Spiders are the most abundant group of predators with over 50,150 spider species known across the world. This number, however, has most likely been underestimated and it is predicted that between 76,000 and 170,000 species actually exist (Huber & Chao 2019; NMBE ‐ World Spider Catalog 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spider bite envenomation on Reunion Island

Cazanove¹,

Rollard

Roux

et al. 2023

Entomological Research

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Spiders are the most abundant group of predators within the Earths ecosystems. On Reunion Island, there are up to 200 known species of spiders. However, the description of the envenomation by the bites of some local spiders have never performed. The objective of this study was to describe the representation of the health risks associated to the six spider species present on the island. The following species were described within the local arachnofauna: Latrodectus geometricus C. L. Koch, 1841 (Theridiidae), Steatoda grossa (C. L. Koch, 1838) (Theridiidae), Loxosceles rufescens (Dufour, 1820) (Sicariidae), Cheiracanthium insulare (Vinson, 1863) (Cheiracanthiidae), Cheiracanthium africanum Lessert, 1921 (Cheiracanthiidae) and Heteropoda venatoria (Linnaeus, 1767) (Sparasidae). This study constituted a first approach to the pathologies encountered by local venomous spider bites. To date, no recorded cases of envenomation linked to these species have been made so far. Some of the species or close species were documented in international literature as responsible for envenomation cases, however, future research should be taken in order to better inform and prepare healthcare professionals within the Reunion Island hospital services to deal with patients with spider bite cases.

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Inferring global species richness from megatransect data and undetected species estimates

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

On Venezuelan pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae)

On Venezuelan pholcid spiders (Araneae, Pholcidae)

Predicting the structure of turtle assemblages along a megatransect in West Africa

Spider bite envenomation on Reunion Island

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