Spider Assemblages of Hummocks and Hollows in a Primeval Alder Carr in the Białowieża National Park — Effect of Vegetation Structure and Soil Humidity

Stańska, Marzena; Stański, Tomasz; Gładzka, Agata; Bartos, Maciej

doi:10.3161/15052249pje2016.64.4.011

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It is worth to mention that in each type of investigated forest we caught Coelotes atropos, a species that seems to be common in the primeval forests in the ground layer and under the bark (Sechterová 1992, Stañska et al 2016.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…diverse forest communities, multi-storey profiles of forest stands, very high trees, large amounts of dead wood) and should be treated as a model of primeval conditions (Tomia³ojae 1991, Weso³owski 2007. While spiders have been a focus of fau-nistic and ecological research in this area (Karpiñski 1956, £êgowski 2001, Starêga & Kupryjanowicz 2001, Stañska 2007, Stañska et al 2016, no research has yet been published on spider assemblages on tree trunks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spider assemblages on tree trunks in primeval deciduous forests of the Białowieża National Park in eastern Poland

Stańska¹,

Stański²,

Hawryluk³

2018

Entomol. Fennica

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We analysed spider assemblages of tree trunks in an oak-lime-hornbeam forest, an ash-alder riparian forest and an alder carr in the primeval stands of the Białowieża National Park. Spiders were collected from June 1998 to October 2000 using bark traps. A total of 2,182 spider individuals, belonging to 43 species and 14 families was collected. The forest types differed in the spider abundance and species richness. The differences probably resulted from different tree species and different environmental conditions in the forest types. The most numerous species in oak-lime-hornbeam forest and in alder carr was Amaurobius fenestralis, whereas Anyphaena accentuatawas the most abundant species in ash-alder riparian forest. Four species (Amaurobius fenestralis, Anyphaena accentuata, Segestria senoculataand Neriene montana) were collected in each month (March – October), whereas most species were recorded sporadically or in some periods.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spider assemblages on tree trunks in primeval deciduous forests of the Białowieża National Park in eastern Poland

Stańska¹,

Stański²,

Hawryluk³

2018

Entomol. Fennica

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“…Among the factors affecting spider assemblagestemperature, humidity, and availability of prey [39][40][41] Table 2. Results of GLMM analysis assessing the effect of habitat complexity, habitat type (mesic meadow, sandy grassland, xerothermic grassland), sex, and place on the mean body size of Alopecosa pulverulenta (N = 70).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It determines taxonomic composition, functional diversity, and the abundance of spiders [19,21,[41][42]. On a scale relevant for spiders, habitat structure is determined mainly by vegetation (or sometimes even by a single plant), which provides spiders with a decent level of humidity, shelter, abundance of prey, and sufficient structures for building webs [22][23]43].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Habitat Complexity on Body Size of Two Spider Species, Alopecosa cuneata and A. pulverulenta (Araneae, Lycosidae), in River Valley Grasslands

Stańska¹,

Stański²,

Wielgosz³

et al. 2018

Pol. J. Environ. Stud.

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Many studies have shown that vegetation structure and habitat complexity affect taxonomic composition, functional diversity, and the number of individuals in spider assemblages. These factors also affect spider body size, but mechanisms responsible for that are still not well understood. In our research, we examined the relationship between the body size of spiders from two species -Alopecosa cuneata and A. pulverulenta -and environmental factors such as habitat type and habitat complexity. Our research was conducted in the Bug River Valley on 12 plots covering three types of habitats: mesic meadow, sandy grassland, and xerothermic grassland. Spiders were collected in 2007-08 from April to mid-November using pitfall traps. In total we measured 334 males and 168 females of Alopecosa cuneata and 315 males and 104 females of A. pulverulenta. The generalized linear mixed model revealed that individuals of Alopecosa cuneata as well as A. pulverulenta reached larger sizes in more complex vegetation, whereas the habitat type did not affect the spider body size. One of the likely mechanisms responsible for a larger body size in more complex habitats is predator pressure. Birds as the main predators of spiders, being selective in their choice of prey, may collect larger spiders with higher intensity than smaller ones. We suggest that more complex habitats with dense vegetation provide better shelter for large spiders, which allows them to avoid predators. Our results indicate that habitat complexity may be an important determinant of body size distribution in spider assemblages.

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“…This microhabitat heterogeneity may also influence the diversity of other groups of organisms. For example, recent studies have shown that different proportions of spider guilds are associated with hummocks and hollows in alder swamp forests [62]. Unfortunately, there is no evidence for such differences in other groups of organisms, e.g., bryophytes, fungi, insects or snails.…”

Section: Knowledge Gaps Related To Biodiversity Dynamics In Alder Carrsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Species Composition in Alder Swamp Forest Following Forest Dieback

Pielech

Malicki

2018

Forests

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It is generally hypothesized that forest dieback is a characteristic of alder swamp forests (alder carrs, Alnion glutinosae alliance). Different internal and external factors may trigger this process, including human disturbance, changes in river discharge, unusually severe and prolonged flooding, terminal age of an even-aged alder forest (ca. 100-150 years) and others. Although forest dieback in this type of forest may cause major changes in environmental conditions, the influence of this change on the floristic composition has not been well recognized. The study aimed to detect any possible changes in floristic variation in alder swamp forest following forest dieback. Vegetation plots in alder swamp forests affected by forest dieback were resurveyed 20 years after a previous study. PERMANOVA was used to test the significance of the compositional change and nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) with passively fitted means of the Ellenberg's Indicator Values were used to interpret its ecological meaning. In addition, different structural and diversity indices were compared, including species richness, percentage cover of vegetation layers, Shannon and Simpson diversity and evenness. Finally, we analyzed changes in the frequency of vascular plant species using Chi square tests. We recorded clear and significant compositional changes following alder swamp forest dieback. This change was most related to the gradient of moisture, followed by the gradients of light and temperature. The analysis of the individual species showed that the species of hummocks declined, while the species of hollows increased. Moreover, the current communities are dominated by some hydrophytes that were not recorded 20 years ago. Forest dieback resulted in profound changes in the hydrological regime. The observed changes are consistent with a model of cyclic succession as proposed for alder swamps. In addition, we conclude that the natural forest dynamics have to be taken into consideration while interpreting the results of re-survey studies.

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Spider Assemblages of Hummocks and Hollows in a Primeval Alder Carr in the Białowieża National Park — Effect of Vegetation Structure and Soil Humidity

Cited by 11 publications

References 26 publications

Spider assemblages on tree trunks in primeval deciduous forests of the Białowieża National Park in eastern Poland

Spider assemblages on tree trunks in primeval deciduous forests of the Białowieża National Park in eastern Poland

Impact of Habitat Complexity on Body Size of Two Spider Species, Alopecosa cuneata and A. pulverulenta (Araneae, Lycosidae), in River Valley Grasslands

Changes in Species Composition in Alder Swamp Forest Following Forest Dieback

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