TITLE:
Tree-Fall Gaps Effects on Spider (Araneae) Assemblages in an Atlantic Forest Landscape in Northeastern Brazil
AUTHORS:
Marcelo Cesar Lima Peres, Kátia Regina Benati, Alessandra Rodrigues S. de Andrade, Marcos Vinicius Alvim Guimarães, Tércio da Silva Melo, Antonio Domingo Brescovit, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie
KEYWORDS:
Atlantic Forest, Edge Effect, Habitat Selection, Spatiotemporal Effect, Neotropical Fauna
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.4 No.3,
June
11,
2014
ABSTRACT: The study investigates the effect of spatial and temporal tree-fall gaps structure on spiders’ assemblage in an Atlantic forest fragmented area in Brazil. It was conducted in the Michelin Ecological Preserve-REM (Bahia), 190 ha forest remnant. Samples were collected on leaf-litter (50 × 50 cm) at five tree-fall gaps formations (2), within five adjacent primary forest and five inner edge parcels. During 16 months (between May 2009 and October 2012), 480 m2 leaf-litter samples were collected, from which spiders were extracted using mini-Winkler traps. The observed and estimated richness of spider’s species was higher at the edge (p