Abstract

FERREIRA-OJEDA, LUIS; FLOREZ-D., EDUARDO  and  SABOGAL-GONZALEZ, ALEXANDER. Orbweaving spiders of subtropical humid forest of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta (Magdalena, Colombia). Caldasia [online]. 2009, vol.31, n.2, pp.381-391. ISSN 0366-5232.

We studied the structure and composition of orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Orbiculariae) in a subtropical humid forest of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta. The samples were taken during four sampling dates, including night and day, and covering two dry and two rainy seasons, between March and October of 2006. We used manual collection, sweeping net and foliage beating. We collected 496 orb-weaving spiders belonging to six families and 35 morphospecies. Araneidae was the most species-rich and abundant family, Nephilidae and Anapidae showed the least richness and being Nephildae the least abundant. Orb-weaving spiders showed preference for the microhabitats of arbustive vegetation, and herbaceous respectively. The araneofauna of diurnal habits was more abundant than that of nocturnal habits. The composition and structure of the community of the orb-weaving spider fauna seem to be related to the climatic regime. The rank-abundance curve fitted a log-normal pattern, which suggests that the community of orb-weaving spiders is stable and are in relative balance.

Keywords : Orb-weaving spiders; structure and composition; seasonality; microhabitats preference; activity habits.

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