Estrutura de comunidades de aranhas em áreas úmidas subtropicais: padrões espaço-temporais

Abstract

Wetlands are ecosystems of high biological diversity and are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth, with enormous ecological and social importance for humanity. Even so, wetlands are one of the planet's most endangered ecosystems by human activities. Changes in natural hydroperiod and flood frequency are factors that alter the integrity of these ecosystems, especially in smaller and intermittent wetlands. Spider communities are present in a wide variety of environments, including wetlands, constituting different food guilds, which are related to the complexity of the ecosystem. The general objective of this study was to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of diversity in spider communities in wetlands with different hydroperiods and different regions in southern Brazil. Sampling was done four times in a total of 12 wetlands in the region of the highlands and two times in a total of 24 wetlands in the Atlantic Forest and Pampa Biomes. The main results were: A total of 2549 individuals were collected from 14 families of spiders in the wetlands from the highlands and from the different Biomes; The hydroperiod and habitat heterogeneity affect the community of spiders, considering the diversity of morphospecies and guilds. There was a pattern of latitudinal distribution of spider communities with a higher diversity of spiders in wetlands of the Atlantic Forest. Thus, these results demonstrate that spiders can act as indicator organisms for these endangered ecosystems. Therefore, this data may provide important information in the future for the conservation of wetlands.