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Ground-dwelling spider diversity in rare European oak and yew woodlands and the impact of grazing

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Abstract

In Ireland only 2 % of the total land area is native woodland, which tends to be small and fragmented. Killarney National Park in south-west Ireland contains the most extensive semi-natural woodland in the country, and includes oak (Quercus petraea) and yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands which are internationally protected. Here, over-grazing by large populations of red deer (Cervus elaphus) and Asian sika deer (Cervus nippon) have lead to changes in overstory and understory vegetation species composition and structure. This study presents the first description of ground-dwelling spider fauna in the rare woodlands of Killarney National Park and asked (1) do these rare woodlands support rare or specialist species, (2) does deer grazing have an effect on spider abundance, richness and species composition in the park, (3) what management recommendations can be made for deer in the park? Active ground-dwelling spiders were sampled in the oak and yew woodlands of the park by pitfall trapping within deer-proof exclosures and adjacent grazed controls. Four spider species classified as vulnerable were collected from these woodlands: Agyneta subtilis occurred in the oak and yew woodlands but Saaristoa firma, Tapinocyba insecta and Walckenaeria dysderoides were collected only in the oak woodland. Killarney National Park may be important for five species, not typically found in plantation forests, which rely on nationally scarce habitats. Deer grazing was linked with decreased ground-dwelling spider abundance and species richness in the oak woodland by reducing structural diversity of the habitat. Fewer effects of grazing were detected in the yew woodland, possibly due to increased culling in the area. Results provide evidence that controlling deer grazing is important for woodland biodiversity in Killarney National Park. Incorporating deer into woodland management in the park is recommended to maintain low grazing levels which will prevent woodland closure and maintain ground vegetation diversity.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the staff of Killarney National Park for enabling this research and particular thanks goes to Patrick Dawson, Frank McMahon, Kathryn Freeman, and the late Padraig O’Leary for allowing us access to the study sites. Thank you to the members of the PLANFORBIO Advisory Group who provided scientific steering. For statistical advice we are indebted to Anne Oxbrough, Linda Coote and Anke Dietzsch. We would also like to thank Rob Deady, Tom Drinan, Eimer Egan and Aisling Walsh for their valuable assistance with fieldwork. This research was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine under the National Development Plan 2007–2013.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, The Cooperage, Distillery Fields, North Mall, Cork, Ireland

    Lauren Fuller, Sandra Irwin, Tom Kelly & John O’Halloran

  2. Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Lauren Fuller, Sandra Irwin, Tom Kelly & John O’Halloran

  3. Botany Department and Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland

    Miles Newman

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  1. Lauren Fuller
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Correspondence to Lauren Fuller.

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Communicated by Grzegorz Mikusinski.

Appendix

Appendix

See Table 6.

Table 6 Species list of ground-dwelling spiders caught in the oak and yew woodlands of Killarney National Park, including habitat association (generalist = habitat generalist, open = open habitat specialist, shaded = under litter, bark and stones in open and forest habitats, forest = forest specialist), conservation status based on Dawson et al. 2008 (DD = data deficient, LC = least concern, VU = vulnerable) and the number of individuals (n) caught in each woodland type
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Fuller, L., Newman, M., Irwin, S. et al. Ground-dwelling spider diversity in rare European oak and yew woodlands and the impact of grazing. Biodivers Conserv 23, 1911–1929 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0695-5

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