Comparison of lowland tropical forest spider (Araneae) assemblages from Congo and Panama using a rapid assessment protocol

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A Rapid Assessment Protocol (RAP) for non-canopy spiders was used to collect replicate samples from four lowland rainforest sites for a proof-of-concept comparison of spider assemblages from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (hereafter, Congo) and Panama. Collecting was done at two 0.25 ha sites in Panama and two 0.25 ha sites in Congo. At each site, three 0.01 ha plots were randomly located, and within each we did 1 person-hour of aerial sampling (sweeping and beating/brushing) and two person-hours of ground sampling (field sieving of leaf litter). The samples yielded 350 adult spiders belonging to 29 spider families. The Panama samples yielded more adult spiders (235 vs. 115) and more spider families (24 vs. 14) than the Congo samples. Overall, the dominant five spider families in these non-canopy samples were Theridiidae (24%), Salticidae (15%), Linyphiidae (11%), Oonopidae (10%), and Pholcidae (7%), with the 20 remaining families each making up less than 5% of the total adults. The three most abundant families in Congo were Theridiidae, Oonopidae, and Thomisidae, while the top three in Panama were Salticidae, Theridiidae, and Linyphiidae. An NMDS ordination analysis of the four plots failed to show significant differences between any of the four assemblages, but when the plots were analyzed by region, there was a significant difference in the family-level assemblages between the continents. This paper shows proof-of-concept that this RAP can produce statistically valid data from brief sampling trips by teams with inexperienced collectors and simple, inexpensive sampling equipment.

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