On the ecology and biogeography of alpine tundra arachnids

• Main Author: Hein, Nils
• Other Authors: Löffler, Jörg, Misof, Bernhard
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn 2014
• Subjects: ddc:550; ddc:910; Arctic; Norway; Oppland; Stranda; Climate change; Tundra
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/6094

In the course of the discussion about the effects of manmade Climate Change on ecosystems, alpine regions of the earth have become a major focus. Alpine ecosystems are generally considered to be especially sensitive towards environmental changes. Thus, alpine research concentrates on ecosystematic processes along gradients at various scales. Within this setting of gradiental dependency, alpine ecosystem research often makes use of spacetime substitution. However, the research on spatial and temporal ecological patterns is mostly limited to the analysis of vegetation patterns; studies on spatial patterns of zoological species composition are underrepresented. Yet, especially epigeic arachnids show some characteristics which makes them valuable proxies in processoriented ecosystem research: on the one hand arachnids occur in high abundances in alpine habitats, on the other hand they are often described to be sensitive towards diverse abiotic and biotic factors. This thesis aims to tackle this research gap by investigating spatial and temporal patterns of arachnids in alpine and arctic habitats. Afurther focus lies on the aranchids' adaptation strategies in relation to tangible environmental conditions within their habitats. Of special interest is, whether and to what extent supposedly harsh alpine environmental factors affect the lifehistory and reproductive traits of arachnids at multiple scales. Therefore, a network along a continentality, an elevational and (micro) topographic gradients has been installed. The network consists of pitfall traps and data loggers, recording microclimatic factors. Furthermore, vegetation composition and snow height and distribution were recorded. This multiscale network was implemented at two research areas in Southern Norway: one is situated in the more oceanic part close to Stranda (Møre og Romsdal), while the other site near Vågå (Oppland) is characterized by a rather continental climate. With regard to the spatial patterns of Araneae, the results of this study, show a ...