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Diversity and assemblage filtering in ground-dwelling spiders (Araneae) along an urbanisation gradient in Denmark

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Abstract

We studied the effects on spiders of a three-step rural-urban urbanisation gradient near a Danish town embedded in a historically forested landscape. Using pitfall traps set in forested habitat patches, we collected a total of 3075 adult spiders of 80 species; the habitats under different degrees of urbanisation had 45–47 species. We found support for Gray’s Increasing Disturbance Hypothesis: the species richness trap−1 was significantly higher in the rural habitat than in any other one, and decreased from the rural forest to forest fragments dominated by non-native trees in the urban park. The number of forest specialist species also decreased along the urbanisation gradient. Neither the presence of generalists nor light-preferring species increased under more urbanised conditions, but web builders and hygrophilous species were more species-rich in the rural habitat than elsewhere. Using indicator values, we identified Coelotes atropos, Walckenaeria corniculans, Walckenaeria cucullata, and Pachygnatha listeri as species linked to the rural and suburban habitats; Trochosa terricola, Saaristoa abnormis, Robertus lividus as characteristic of the rural habitat; and Gongylidium rufipes and Diplocephalus latifrons as urban habitat specialists.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. Szinetár and N. Scharff for help with taxonomic identification and for advice concerning habitat affinity of the spider species. Author contributions: planning, data collection: ZE, GL; sorting & identification: ZE, RH; data evaluation: TM, RH, ZE, GL; article writing: GL, RH, TM, ZE. Author sequence is by merit. This is publication no. 12 of the Danglobe Project.

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Author notes

  1. Gábor L. Lövei and Roland Horváth contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Flakkebjerg Research Centre, Forsøgsvej 1, DK-4200, Slagelse, Denmark

    Gábor L. Lövei & Zoltán Elek

  2. Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary

    Roland Horváth & Tibor Magura

  3. MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, Biological Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary

    Zoltán Elek

Authors
  1. Gábor L. Lövei
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  2. Roland Horváth
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  4. Tibor Magura
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Correspondence to Gábor L. Lövei.

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Lövei, G.L., Horváth, R., Elek, Z. et al. Diversity and assemblage filtering in ground-dwelling spiders (Araneae) along an urbanisation gradient in Denmark. Urban Ecosyst 22, 345–353 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-018-0819-x

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