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https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17991
Title: | Responses of foliage-living spider assemblage composition and traits to an environmental gradient in 'Themeda' grasslands | Contributor(s): | Gibb, Heloise (author); Muscat, Daniel (author); Binns, Matthew (author); Silvey, C J (author); Peters, R A (author); Warton, David I (author); Andrew, Nigel R (author) | Publication Date: | 2015 | DOI: | 10.1111/aec.12195 | Handle Link: | https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17991 | Abstract: | For speciose, but poorly known groups, such as terrestrial arthropods, functional traits present a potential avenue to assist in predicting responses to environmental change. Species turnover is common along environmental gradients, but it is unclear how this is reflected in species traits. Community-level change in arthropod traits, other than body size, has rarely been explored across spatial scales comparable to those examined here. We hypothesized that the composition and morphological traits of spider assemblages would differ across a gradient of climate and habitat structure. We examined foliage-living spider assemblages associated with 'Themeda triandra' grasslands along a 900 km climatic gradient in south-eastern Australia. We used sweep-netting to collect 'T. triandra'-associated spiders and counted juveniles and identified adults. We also measured morphological traits of adult spiders and noted their hunting mode. Associations with measures of habitat structure were less consistent than relationships with climate. Both juvenile and adult spiders were more abundant in warmer sites, although species richness was not affected by temperature. We found distinct turnover in species composition along the climatic gradient, with hunting spiders, particularly crab spiders (Thomisidae), making up a greater proportion of assemblages in warmer climates. A range of traits of spiders correlated with the climatic gradient. For example, larger spider species and species that were active hunters were more common in warmer climates. Changes in morphological traits across species, rather than within species drove the morphology-climate relationship. Strong climate-trait correlations suggest that it may be possible to predict changes in functional traits of assemblages in response to anthropogenic disturbances such as climate change. | Publication Type: | Journal Article | Grant Details: | ARC/DP0985886 | Source of Publication: | Austral Ecology, 40(3), p. 225-237 | Publisher: | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia | Place of Publication: | Australia | ISSN: | 1442-9993 1442-9985 |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: | 060808 Invertebrate Biology 060208 Terrestrial Ecology |
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: | 310913 Invertebrate biology 310308 Terrestrial ecology |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: | 970105 Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences |
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: | 280111 Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences 280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences |
Peer Reviewed: | Yes | HERDC Category Description: | C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal |
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Appears in Collections: | Journal Article |
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