Abstract
Abstract Among the most damaging anthropogenic effects for ecosystems is habitat fragmentation. One of its consequences is the creation of edges, which results in more exposed habitats that have different ecological and behavioural effects on the different species that live there. However, the nature and magnitude of these effects remain unknown for most of the animals and plants inhabiting these edge habitats. This study intends to determine if quantity of prey capture by a woodland population of the orb spider Metellina mengei is subjected to edge effects. By observing the prey capture of this species at edge and interior locations of a woodland, we found no significant effects of edge on the number of prey captured or the average prey length. Instead, we found that inclination of the web, but not web area or other measured web parameters, had a significant effect on prey capture. Therefore, this species of spider may be minimally affected by its location within the woodland and more affected by its surrounding microhabitat, which raises the possibility that non-specialised invertebrate predators could be less impacted by fragmentation than generally recognised.
Highlights
Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation remains one of the main threats to the biodiversity of specialised woodland species best documented in birds (Gardner et al, 2019) and insects (Tscharntke et al, 2002)
Habitat fragmentation and edge effects lead to changes in species richness and abundance as outlined above, but, much less studied, they can result in changes in species composition and in behaviour of species surviving in the edges
It was suggested in their paper that this was because the spiders were trading off potential web damage against higher prey capture rates. This study examines this suggestion by monitoring prey capture of webs of the same spider at the edge and interior of the same temperate woodland – Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire, UK – in order to further understand the role of edge effects on this orb spider
Summary
Anthropogenic habitat fragmentation remains one of the main threats to the biodiversity of specialised woodland species best documented in birds (Gardner et al, 2019) and insects (Tscharntke et al, 2002) (but see Fahrig, 2017 for evidence of a negligent or even positive effect of habitat fragmentation for overall biodiversity). Habitat fragmentation and edge effects lead to changes in species richness and abundance as outlined above, but, much less studied, they can result in changes in species composition and in behaviour of species surviving in the edges This includes changes in vegetation composition as conditions favour more generalist plants and saplings (Jokimäki et al, 1998), reduced hoarding activity in birds (Brotons et al, 2001), increased numbers of larger insects (Jokimäki et al, 1998) and increased insect herbivory and foraging activity (Urbas et al, 2007; Guimarães et al, 2014)
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