Microhabitat selection in the sand recluse spider (Sicarius thomisoides): the effect of rock size and temperature
Author
dc.contributor.author
Taucare Ríos, Andrés
Author
dc.contributor.author
Veloso Iriarte, Claudio
Author
dc.contributor.author
Bustamante Araya, Ramiro
Admission date
dc.date.accessioned
2018-07-04T13:43:06Z
Available date
dc.date.available
2018-07-04T13:43:06Z
Publication date
dc.date.issued
2017
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
Journal of Natural History, 51(37-38): 2199-2210
es_ES
Identifier
dc.identifier.other
10.1080/00222933.2017.1367046
Identifier
dc.identifier.uri
https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/149455
Abstract
dc.description.abstract
In spiders, temperature is considered an important environmental variable for microhabitat selection. In this study, we evaluated the effect of temperature and rock size on the presence of the sand recluse spider Sicarius thomisoides and the degree of selectivity in different locations. This species is a large spider that lives under rocks in desert and semi-desert climates and is particularly active during the summer. In Chile, these spiders can be found at both coastal and inland locations under different thermal conditions, where usually the temperatures are lower near the coast. If large-scale climatic conditions are important for this species, they may be expected to select lower rock temperatures on the coast than at inland locations. In addition, we would expect that the spiders would choose larger rocks in inland compared to coast locations, which reduce the effect of high temperatures. We found that the probability of finding individuals of this species increased according to rock temperature and rock size in the field. Our results suggest that S. thomisoides prefers larger and warmer rocks to shelter under during the day, this selectivity being similar at both coastal and inland locations. Thus, this species tends to select rocks with the same thermal and structural conditions, independent
of the climatic conditions.