干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

1. We examined the habitat selection of a Negev desert web-building spider Stegodyphus lineatus in two adjacent habitats differing in vegetation structure and prey availability.

2. We investigated the choice of web-sites by spiders in terms of both vegetation structure and expected availability of prey. Spiders built their webs preferentially in shrubs with dense branch architecture and chose the parts of shrubs with greatest potential availability of prey.

3. We conducted food-supplementation experiments to determine the effects of food supply on time to reproduction and number of offspring produced. Spiders in the habitat with greater prey availability and more abundant annual vegetation grew larger and reproduced earlier. Food-supplemented spiders reproduced earlier and had more young than control spiders in either habitat, providing evidence for the pivotal role of food supply in this spider’s life history.

4. Dispersal of spiders was more frequent in the habitat with greater availability of prey. This movement pattern may be a response to local changes in the distribution of flying insects.