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Species composition of shoreline wolf spider communities vary with salinity but their diets vary with wrack inflow
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  • Peter Hambäck,
  • Alyssa R. Cirtwill,
  • Magdalena Grudzinska-Sterno,
  • Alexander Hoffmann,
  • Marie Langbak,
  • David Åhlén
Peter Hambäck
Stockholm University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Alyssa R. Cirtwill
University of Helsinki
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Magdalena Grudzinska-Sterno
Stockholm University
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Alexander Hoffmann
Stockholm University
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Marie Langbak
Stockholm University
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David Åhlén
Stockholm University
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Abstract

Wolf spiders are typically the most common group of arthropod predators on both lake and marine shorelines, because of the high prey availability in these habitats. However, shores are also harsh environments due to flooding and, in proximity to marine waters, to toxic salinity levels. Here, we describe the spider community, prey availabilities and spider diets between shoreline sites with different salinities, albeit with comparatively small differences (5 vs. 7‰). Despite the small environmental differences, spider communities between low and higher saline sites showed an almost complete species turnover. At the same time, differences in prey availability or spider gut contents did not match changes in spider species composition but rather changed with habitat characteristics within region, where spiders collected at sites with thick wrack beds had a different diet than sites with little wrack. These data suggest that shifts in spider communities are due to habitat characteristics rather than prey availabilities, and the most likely candidate restricting species in high salinity would be saline sensitivity. At the same time, species absences from low-saline habitats remain unresolved.
21 Nov 2022Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
21 Nov 2022Submission Checks Completed
21 Nov 2022Assigned to Editor
21 Nov 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
08 Dec 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
12 Dec 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
14 Dec 20221st Revision Received
14 Dec 2022Submission Checks Completed
14 Dec 2022Assigned to Editor
14 Dec 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
15 Dec 2022Editorial Decision: Accept
Dec 2022Published in Ecology and Evolution volume 12 issue 12. 10.1002/ece3.9701