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Using spider web types as a substitute for assessing web-building spider biodiversity and the success of habitat restoration

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/130880

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Title: Using spider web types as a substitute for assessing web-building spider biodiversity and the success of habitat restoration
Related: Biodiversity and conservation, Vol. 19, No. 11, (2010), p.3141-3155
DOI: 10.1007/s10531-010-9882-1
Publisher: Springer
Date: 2010
FoR/RFCD Code(s): 050100 Ecological Applications 060200 Ecology 050200 Environmental Science and Management
Author/Creator: Gollan, John R
Author/Creator: Smith, Helen M
Author/Creator: Bulbert, Matthew
Author/Creator: Donnelly, Andrew P
Author/Creator: Wilkie, Lance
Description: Arthropods have been regarded as good indicators of habitat quality due to their sensitivity to changes in habitat state. However, there are many constraints to working with arthropods that make them inaccessible to land managers and most volunteer-driven initiatives. Our study examined a novel approach for detecting changes in web-building spider communities by focussing on the types of webs that spiders build rather than the spider itself. This method was cost-effective, easy-to-use, and importantly, we found a strong congruency between the diversity of web architecture and the diversity of web-building spider genera. The metrics derived from this method could distinguish differences in web-building communities among habitat types that represented a successional gradient, and thus we concluded that the method was useful for monitoring the progress of restoration. Many other applications for the method are possible such as environmental impact assessment and agricultural pest management, and we encourage development in these areas.
Description: 15 page(s)
Subject Keyword: 050100 Ecological Applications
Subject Keyword: 060200 Ecology
Subject Keyword: 050200 Environmental Science and Management
Subject Keyword: araneae
Subject Keyword: citizen science
Subject Keyword: cost-effective
Subject Keyword: indicator
Subject Keyword: invertebrate
Resource Type: journal article
Organisation: Macquarie University. Dept. of Biological Sciences

Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.14/130880
Identifier: ISSN:0960-3115
Identifier: mq-rm-2010004096
Language: eng
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