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Review of habitats occupied by Urocoras longispinus: a little-known spider species, and responses to grassland management

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Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to report habitat occupancy, naturalness status and phenology of Urocoras longispinus (Chyzer and Kulczyński 1897), a little-known spider species. Sampling was conducted in Natura 2000 habitats of the Mátra Mountains, and four disturbed mainroad verges in Hungary between 2012 and 2015. We recorded 356 adult specimens active throughout the year, but abundance was highest in autumn. In the Mátra Mountains shrub removal negatively affected the abundance of U. lonsgspinus: the species preferred shaded habitats. The intensity of mowing maintenance caused changes in the species’ abundance in mainroad verges: the number of individual spiders increased as a result of both without maintenance and enhanced maintenance. We conclude that U. longispinus is a stenochronous spider species which lives in both human-disturbed and undisturbed habitats. However, the nature of the disturbance influenced the abundance of this species to varying degrees.

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Acknowledgments

The two projects of the Mátra Mountains were funded by Bükk National Park Directorate. We thank György Dudás for supports, also László Urbán and Attila Kemény for sampling in the Mátra Mountains and Éva Rácz for sampling along the road verges. The project along the road verges was funded by CEDR-Harmony (http://www.harmony-project.net/). We thank the National Road Authority and the directory of the Duna-Ipoly National Park for the permissions to undertake field work. We thank the field experts for botanical and zoological reference sampling and for measuring the biotic and abiotic environmental parameters of each sampling area. The English was proofread by Andrew Hamer, University of Melbourne.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. FM ASzK - Forestry, Agricultural and Game Management Training School and Student Hostel of Mátra, 11 Erdész street, Mátrafüred, H-3232, Hungary

    Tünde Szmatona-Túri

  2. Bükk National Park Directorate, Mátra Region, 6 Sánc road, Eger, H-3304, Hungary

    Gábor Magos

  3. Eötvös József Reformated Education Centre, 29 Dobó Street, Heves, H-3360, Hungary

    Diána Vona-Túri

  4. Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary

    Blanka Gál

  5. MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Balaton Limnological Institute, Klebelsberg Kuno str. 3, Tihany, H-8237, Hungary

    Blanka Gál & András Weiperth

  6. MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Danube Research Institute, 29 Karolina Street, Budapest, H-1113, Hungary

    Blanka Gál & András Weiperth

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  1. Tünde Szmatona-Túri
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  2. Gábor Magos
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Correspondence to Tünde Szmatona-Túri.

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The Bükk National Park Directorate handled the permission request and organized the examinations of Natura 2000 habitats as pre-assessment and monitoring of grassland managements in the Mátra Mountains funded by KEOP project.

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Szmatona-Túri, T., Magos, G., Vona-Túri, D. et al. Review of habitats occupied by Urocoras longispinus: a little-known spider species, and responses to grassland management. Biologia 73, 523–529 (2018). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-018-0061-2

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