Simulated Shrub Encroachment Impacts Function of Arctic Spider Communities

• Main Author: Legault, Geoffrey
• Other Authors: Weis, Arthur
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: spiders; Arctic; shrub encroachment; ecosystem functioning; arthropods; phenology; snow cover; snow fences; overwintering; 0329; Tundra
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/31302

The projected increase of shrubs across the Arctic is expected to alter patterns of snow cover, which may affect the phenology and survival of arthropods such as spiders. In this study, we simulated shrub encroachment on a series of tundra plots and examined the effects on the spider assemblages during the following growing season. Our simulated shrub treatment did not affect the abundance or composition of spider communities over the season; however, adults from the dominant genus Pardosa (Lycosidae) had significantly higher body mass on treatment plots. This difference in mass was observed following snow melt and persisted until halfway through the growing season. Given the importance of spiders as arthropod predators and as food sources for breeding birds, such a change in summer body mass could represent a shift in spiders’ functional contributions to Arctic ecosystems.