Distribution of the spider community in the olive grove agroecosystem (Portugal): potential bioindicators

• Autor(a) principal: Benhadi-Marín, Jacinto
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Pereira, J.A., Sousa, José Paulo, Santos, Sónia A.P.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/20097
• topic: Guilds; Indicators; Margin; Predators; Shrubland

Spiders are successful natural enemies in different crops. Research on the role of spiders as natural enemies within agroecosystems needs to address the distribution of their communities across different spatial scales, as well as the dominant species. We studied the spatial distribution of the community of spiders of the olive agroecosystem in Northeastern Portugal and investigated potential species that could be used as bioindicators of agricultural management in the olive grove. We found nine functional groups (ambushers, foliage runner hunters, ground hunters, orb-web builders, sheet web builders, sensing web-builders, space web builders, stalkers and wandering sheet/tangle weavers) encompassing a community that changed significantly across the horizontal and vertical gradient. We propose Thanatus vulgaris Simon, 1870 as potential bioindicator for the ground of the olive grove central area and Ozyptila pauxilla (Simon, 1870) for the ground of the olive grove peripheral area. Adjacent shrubland areas could play an important role in biological control of pests, allowing the exchange of species and individuals with the olive crop. The role of agrobiont species as indicators of agricultural managements deserves further investigation towards the enhancement of the effectiveness of spiders within low-impact crop management in arable landscapes.