In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García

Posted by
  In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García -  Photo © Facebook/National Museum of Natural History of Cuba In Memoriam: Giraldo Alayón García The arachnological community mourns the loss of Giraldo Alayón García, a Cuban zoologist whose work helped bring the spiders of Cuba and the wider Caribbean into clearer scientific view. As a researcher and curator at Cuba’s National Museum of Natural History, Dr. Alayón devoted decades to studying arachnids. His publications on spider taxonomy, evolution, and biogeography gave other researchers a stronger foundation for understanding the region’s biodiversity. He also shared that knowledge through teaching and scientific exchange far beyond Cuba. For those of us who care about taxonomy, his legacy is a reminder of the patient work behind every species description: examining specimens, recording differences, and preserving knowledge that others can build upon. His contributions will continue to guide the study of Caribbean spiders for years to ...

Refuge preferences and web trap lines: the potential for competitive displacement of endemic katipō Latrodectus katipo by the invasive false katipō Steatoda capensis (Araneae: Theridiidae).

Posted by

 


Refuge preferences and web trap lines: the potential for competitive displacement of endemic katipō Latrodectus katipo by the invasive false katipō Steatoda capensis (Araneae: Theridiidae)

Competitive displacement is a form of interspecific competition. Here, we explore the potential for competitive displacement in refuges of the endangered katipō spider (Latrodectus katipo) by the invasive false katipō (Steatoda capensis) (Araneae, Theridiidae). We conducted experimental assays using artificial refuges to test individual preferences for refuge shape, surface, and height. We also tested how refuge type affects the number of web trap lines used for prey capture. Both species preferred triangular refuges over rectangular refuges, with no evidence of a preference for other refuge types. For reasons which remain unclear, individuals varied in their preferences for surface and height. Katipō spiders showed site fidelity in all three assays, while false katipō spiders only showed site fidelity in the shape and surface assays. However, there was also evidence of individual variation in site fidelity in the shape assay. Spiders constructed more web trap lines beneath the triangular refuges, potentially due to their preference for triangular refuges. We suggest that overlapping refuge preferences, but not web structure, may contribute to competition and the potential for competitive displacement of the katipō by false katipō. Although not exclusively preferred by katipō, introducing artificial triangular refuges in katipō habitats should be tested as a means of supporting the persistence and expansion of katipō populations.


James Joseph Roberts, Anne Wignall, Dianne H. Brunton et al. Refuge preferences and web trap lines: the potential for competitive displacement of endemic katipō Latrodectus katipo by the invasive false katipō Steatoda capensis (Araneae: Theridiidae)., 30 May 2024, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4379057/v1]