1976/01/01 by Susan E. Riechert · 4 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Plant and animal studies #Animal Behavior and Reproduction
paper · doi:10.2307/3543911
openalex publication_date 1976/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
Spider movements, web-site character and the interrelationship of these two were studied to determine the nature of habitat selection in a funnel-web spider (Agelenidae) inhabiting desert grassland and lava beds in south-central New Mexico. Individuals were marked with paint, flushed daily and their movements followed. Web-site character and that of the general habitat were assessed through use of a line-intercept method. During the course of the study all spiders were observed to change the position and orientation of their webs at a given site and most relocated, as many as seven times, elsewhere. No difference was observed in the number of moves made between immature and adult spiders, although adults tended to move greater distances. A multiple discriminant analysis computed on the character of 634 web-sites and associated nonweb-sites demonstrated that the microhabitat present at web-sites differed from the general microphysiography and vegetation of the study areas. Characters chosen by spiders in selecting web-sites included shrubs, depressions, litter and flowering plants. Web-sites offering these features were maintained significantly longer than others, and with successive moves spiders selected sites of increasingly better quality.