Understory spider assemblages from a cloud forest in Chiapas, Mexico, and their relationships to environmental variables
Cloud forests have high ecological complexity, but their reduced area and exploitation by human communities, make them one of the most endangered ecosystems in Mexico. The spider assemblages of a cloud forest reserve in Chiapas, Mexico, were studied to analyze influence of environmental variables (forest stand structure, temperature and relative humidity) and their temporal variation, on the distribution, abundance, species richness and assemblage structure of spiders. Ten parcels were established for the sampling of spiders and the recording of forest and climatic variables. Spider sampling took place during the dry and rainy seasons. Vegetation data were recorded at the end of the study (except canopy cover, which was registered at the end of each season). Some differences were found among parcels in forest stand structure, but only the density of seedlings showed a high correlation with spider abundance, seemingly seedlings (by its size and architecture) offered numerous supports for the understory spiders' webs and then promote the settlement of weaver spiders. Also there were some correspondences between the similarity patterns of forest structure and spider assemblages, giving some evidence of a forest structure influence on the integration of spiders' assemblages. Spider abundance was notoriously higher in the dry season. Other environmental variables had only weak effects on spider variables (abundance and species richness) and assemblage structure. The most abundant families were Tetragnathidae, Theridiidae and Linyphiidae, which were also among the dominant families in other tropical cloud forests, with the latter two also being among the most diverse. As complex ecosystems, tropical cloud forests seem to have complicated interactions with their inhabitant animals, not easy to elucidate.
Main Authors: | Campuzano Granados, Emmanuel Franco Doctor 12967, Ibarra Núñez, Guillermo Doctor autor/a 2088, Chamé Vázquez, Eduardo Rafael Maestro autor/a 6864, Montaño Moreno, Héctor Maestro autor/a 10512 |
---|---|
Format: | Texto biblioteca |
Language: | eng |
Subjects: | Arañas, Población animal, Bosque de niebla, Variables ambientales, Artfrosur, |
Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11829-016-9426-z |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Similar Items
-
Variabilidad estructural de los ensambles de arañas y opiliones en un bosque mesófilo de montaña en la Reserva de la Biosfera El Triunfo, Chiapas
by: Gómez Rodríguez, José Francisco Maestro autor 13076, et al.
Published: (2015) -
Las arañas del suelo del bosque mesófilo de montaña de la reserva de la biosfera Volcán Tacaná, Chiapas efectos de las perturbaciones antropogénicas
by: Ibarra Núñez, Guillermo Doctor autor/a 2088, et al. -
Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the tropical mountain cloud forest from El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
by: Campuzano Granados, Emmanuel Franco Doctor autor 12967, et al. -
A new spider genus (Araneae: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae) from a tropical montane cloud forest of Mexico
by: Ibarra Núñez, Guillermo Doctor autor 2088, et al. -
Gremios de arañas de la vegetación del bosque mesófilo de montaña de la Reserva de la Biosfera Volcán Tacaná, Chiapas, México
by: Maya Morales, Julieta Doctora autor/a 13099, et al.