Different groups of ground-dwelling spiders share similar trophic niches in temperate forests

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Andrey Zuev - , Russian Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Kerstin Heidemann - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Vladislav Leonov - , Russian Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Ina Schaefer - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Stefan Scheu - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Andrei Tanasevitch - , Russian Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Alexei Tiunov - , Russian Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Sergey Tsurikov - , Russian Academy of Sciences (Author)
  • Anton Potapov - , Russian Academy of Sciences, University of Göttingen (Author)

Abstract

Generalistic interactions between predator and prey may vary with ecosystem type, predator traits, and prey traits, but the interplay of these factors has not been assessed in ground food webs. We investigated trophic interactions of ground-dwelling spiders across eight forests in European Russia associated with body size, hunting strategy, microhabitat specialization, potential prey type, potential prey population density, and forest type (coniferous vs. broadleaved). We analyzed 128 individual spiders, including juveniles, all identified to the family level with two complementary methods: molecular gut content analysis, and stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen. The results suggest that feeding frequency of spiders is affected by predator body size and by selection of certain prey type. Stable isotope analysis showed similar trophic niches among spider families, varying moderately with forest type. Larger spiders had higher Δ13C values than smaller ones, but similar Δ15N values, suggesting that different size classes of spiders belong to different food chains. Results based on stable isotope and molecular gut content analyses were weakly linked, indicating them targeting different trophic niche dimensions. At least for the group-level interactions, family identity and hunting strategy of predator has little predictive power while predator body size and prey traits affected trophic niche dimensions calling for future studies in this direction. Large spiders feed more and rely on different basal resources than small spiders, suggesting that including small species and juveniles provides a more comprehensive picture of food web organization.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1346-1356
Number of pages11
JournalEcological entomology
Volume45
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Araneae, gut content, soil food web, stable isotopes, trophic niche