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Macrophyte Structural Complexity Influences Spider Assemblage Attributes in Wetlands

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Abstract

Macrophytes increase structural complexity in aquatic ecosystems and their emergent structures provide habitats for spiders. We sampled spiders in three species of macrophytes (Eichhornia azurea, Eichhornia crassipes and Limnobium laevigatum) and measured five traits indicative of structural complexity: horizontal structure, vertical structure, plant height, macrophyte richness and macrophyte biomass. We tested the hypothesis that spider density and diversity increase and guild composition changes along a gradient of structural complexity provided by macrophytes. Vertical and horizontal structure and macrophyte richness covaried with the attributes of spider assemblages. However, vertical structure was an important habitat-complexity trait because it covaried with all spider attributes investigated, positively affecting density and taxa richness and changing guild composition. Our findings suggest that the increase in macrophyte structural complexity, primarily through vertical structure, provides additional habitat and microhabitat variability. These forms of variability may increase the availability of prey and shelter and even reduce intraguild predation between spiders, thereby potentially increasing density and taxa richness. Moreover, an increase in vertical complexity provides available structures for web attachment, favoring web-building spiders and consequently affecting guild composition. Thus, habitat structure plays an important role in structuring spider assemblages and specific traits may mediate changes in particular attributes of spider assemblages.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all our contributors and reviewers. We thank Thaísa S. Michelan, Juliana C. de Oliveira, Camila F. de Souza, Rosemara Fugi, Heloísa B. A. Evangelista, Cristiane A. Umetsu and Cássia R. Ceole for their assistance with fieldwork. We are also indebted to Sebastião Rodrigues and Alfredo Soares da Silva for field support; David Candiani, Nancy L. M. Hung, Adalberto J. dos Santos, Antônio Brescovit, Daniele Polotow Geraldo and Regiane S. Ferreira for sorting support; Katya E. Kovalenko for insightful suggestions and Luiz Carlos Gomes for statistical discussions. We additionally thank Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia Ictiologia e Aquicultura for providing facilities for the development of this study. ERC is extremely grateful to ‘Coordenadoria de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior’ (CAPES) for a Master’s degree scholarship. SMT and ABB are especially thankful to the Brazilian Council of Research (CNPq) for continuous funding through Research Productivity grants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá. Av. Colombo, 5790, 87020-900, Maringá, PR, Brazil

    Eduardo Ribeiro Cunha, Sidinei Magela Thomaz & Roger Paulo Mormul

  2. Programa de Pós Graduação em Zoologia, Convênio Universidade Federal do Pará / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Av. Perimetral, 1901, 66077-830, Belém, PA, Brazil

    Emanuel Giovani Cafofo

  3. Laboratório de Aracnologia, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Universidade Federal do Pará. Av. Perimetral, 1901, 66077-830, Belém, PA, Brazil

    Alexandre Bragio Bonaldo

Authors
  1. Eduardo Ribeiro Cunha
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  2. Sidinei Magela Thomaz
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  3. Roger Paulo Mormul
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  4. Emanuel Giovani Cafofo
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  5. Alexandre Bragio Bonaldo
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Correspondence to Eduardo Ribeiro Cunha.

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Cunha, E.R., Thomaz, S.M., Mormul, R.P. et al. Macrophyte Structural Complexity Influences Spider Assemblage Attributes in Wetlands. Wetlands 32, 369–377 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0272-1

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