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Seasonal change and microhabitat association of Arctic spider assemblages (Arachnida: Araneae) on Victoria Island (Nunavut, Canada)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2017

Elyssa R. Cameron  and
Christopher M. Buddle
Elyssa R. Cameron*
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Rd, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9, Canada
Christopher M. Buddle
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Rd, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, H9X 3V9, Canada
*
1Corresponding author (e-mail: elyssa.cameron@mail.mcgill.ca)
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Abstract

Arctic ecosystems are characterised by a mosaic of distinct microhabitats, which play a key role in structuring biodiversity. Understanding species diversity in relation to these microhabitats, and how communities are structured seasonally, is imperative to properly conserve, monitor, and manage northern biodiversity. Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are dominant arthropod predators in the Arctic, yet the seasonal change in their communities in relation to microhabitat variation is relatively unknown. This research quantified how spider assemblages are structured seasonally and by microhabitat, near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada. In 2014, spiders were collected in 240 pan and pitfall traps placed in common microhabitat types (two wet and two dry) from 3 July to 11 August, the active season in the high Arctic. In total, 10 353 spiders from 22 species and four families were collected. Non-metric multidimensional scaling ordinations revealed that spider assemblages from wet habitats were distinct from those occurring in drier habitats, but that differences within each of those habitats were not evident. Abundance and diversity was highest in wet habitats and differed significantly from dry habitats; both these variables decreased seasonally. Spider assemblages in the north are structured strongly along moisture gradients, and such data informs planning for future ecological monitoring in the Arctic.

Type
Behaviour & Ecology
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 149 , Issue 3 , June 2017 , pp. 357 - 371
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2017 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Derek Sikes

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