Ecology and life history of Meta bourneti (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) from Monte Albo (Sardinia, Italy).

ABSTRACT: The orb-weaver spider Meta bourneti Simon 1922 (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) is one of the most common cave predators occurring in the Mediterranean basin. Although the congeneric M. menardi represented the model species in several studies, our knowledge of M. bourneti is only founded on observations performed on a handful of populations. In this study M. bourneti spiders were studied in caves of Monte Albo (Sardinia, Italy) over a year. Generalized Linear Mixed Models were used to analyze spider occupancy inside cave environments, as well as spider abundance. Analyses on M. bourneti occupancy and abundance were also repeated for adults and juveniles separately. Generalized Linear Models, were used to weight species absence based on its detection probability.

SUBMITTER: Lunghi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6275118 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature