Abstract
The reconstructed prairie on the Marion Campus of The Ohio State University was established in 1977. Since then restoration has focused on plants. Animals on the site have recolonized without active management. Spider assemblages were sampled in 2000 and compared to those sampled at the time on 2 remnant prairies and 2 old fields. Pitfall traps and sweep nets were used for sampling. In 2000, spiders (n = 1,541) representing 94 species were captured; 91% of these were captured with pitfall traps. The restored Marion Campus Prairie was inhabited by an assemblage of spiders resembling those on nearby remnant prairies and old fields.
Highlights
In recent decades there has been a movement to restore prairie habitat in North America (Samson and Knopf 1996)
Spiders were sampled at 5 locations: 2 were remnant prairies (DPSSNP, Claridon Railroad Prairie (CRP)), 1 was a reconstructed prairie (MCP), and 2 were old fields (BIWA, Delaware Wildlife Area (DWA))
Some differences were found between the spider assemblages at prairie remnants, old fields, and a reconstructed prairie—all in central Ohio
Summary
In recent decades there has been a movement to restore prairie habitat in North America (Samson and Knopf 1996). This effort followed the realization that tall grass prairies have been largely replaced by agricultural development in North America. Cusick and Troutman (1978) estimated that these openings covered approximately 294,000 ha in Ohio during pre-settlement times. Researchers estimate that the Sandusky Plains once covered approximately 77,700 ha (Clutter 2001). What remains of the original Sandusky Plains flora are mostly relatively small remnants comprising about 100 ha (Troutman 1981)
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