Estudi de la diversitat d’aranyes a les Deveses de Salt

Abstract

The spider’s order (Araneae) has received little attention and many aspects of their ecology and distribution remain unknown. In the work that studied the changes in the community throughout the year made until 2012, the “Pitfall" catch method was used to obtain the samples. These methods are good for capturing epigean species and is considered to provide a good picture of the communities that live in an area, but do not give us a representation of tree species. 2012 was the year for the first study of spider communities present in the treetops making an annual sampling. Given the scarcity of such studies, there was a decision to study the evolution of the spider's annual community in the "Deveses de Salt" park by the technique of Japanese umbrella, which allows to capture the treetop's individuals selectively without damaging plant species. It is the first time that a study of this kind was performed in the peninsula. The results from the Shannon-Wiener and Pielou indices showed that the chosen location has a healthy community of spiders. More than 1300 individuals have been captured belonging to 15 families and a total of 64 genera. Two of the species found are a first appointment for Spain and one of them for the Iberian Peninsula. It has also been noted that the fact of making a sample at a specific point of the year can cause a loss of community information. It’s been stated that at certain times of the year, depending on the study area, temperatures can affect the spider community more, and more directly than previously thought. With the correspondent analysis conducted it can be observed that some species have a tendency to appear at certain times of the year, although earlier than described so far, conducted in the most northern Europe. This study has revealed the lack of information that we still experience in order to reach a better understanding of this order