Niche differentiation in Meta Bourneti and M. menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) with notes on the life history

Meta menardi and M. bourneti are two species of spiders inhabiting caves and other subterranean habitats. The occurrence of both species within the same cave has never been proved convincingly and several authors hypothesized a complete niche differentiation mainly based on microclimatic conditions....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of speleology 2014-09, Vol.43 (3), p.343-353
Main Authors: Mammola, Stefano, Isaia, Marco
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Tetragnathidae
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Summary:Meta menardi and M. bourneti are two species of spiders inhabiting caves and other subterranean habitats. The occurrence of both species within the same cave has never been proved convincingly and several authors hypothesized a complete niche differentiation mainly based on microclimatic conditions. In order to study the apparent niche differentiation of the two species, they studied several populations of M. menardi and M. bourneti occurring in six caves in the Western Italian Alps. The authors counted individuals and we collected the main environmental variables at each plot, namely distance from cave entrance, structural typology, light intensity, wind speed and counts of potential prey. They run several statistical models in order to relate the counts of individuals to the environmental parameters. The distance from the cave entrance, structural typology and prey availability resulted most important factors driving the abundance of both species within the cave. In the study area, M. bourneti tolerates broad microclimatic fluctuations and is potentially able to colonize a wide variety of caves.
ISSN:0392-6672
1827-806X
DOI:10.5038/1827-806X.43.3.11