Local field position within blueberry fields determines the composition of ground-dwelling spiders

Monday, November 11, 2024

11:18 AM – 11:30 AM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 222 C, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

Sarah Miranda de Rezende

PhD student
University of Georgia
Tifton, Georgia

Co-Author(s)

ZW

Zack Williams

Cooperative Extension
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
SP

Svoboda Pennisi

University of Georgia
Griffin, Georgia
Jason M. Schmidt

Associate Professor
University of Georgia
Tifton, Georgia

Spiders are among the most diverse and abundant predators within agroecosystems that contribute significantly to biological control. Recent studies show that land-use change can alter the functioning of spider food webs, but the composition and dynamics of spider communities are largely unknown in many systems. Here we study how within-farm field positions shape aspects of spider communities in blueberry production. We estimated ground-dwelling spider communities in blueberry fields of southeast Georgia for eight months, including the blooming and fruiting phenological stages. Over two years, we sampled eight commercial farms using pitfall traps among three field positions (interior, edge, and forest border). For the first three months of the study, we enumerated 809 adult spiders representing 21 families. Spider communities primarily included (89%) five families: Lycosidae (53%), Linyphiidae (17%), Gnaphosidae (9%), Phrurolithidae, and Corinnidae (4%). Spiders were more diverse in April and May than in March, and more abundant in May. Additionally, spiders were more abundant on the field edge, and exhibited dissimilarity in community composition related to field position. Although most families were found in all three field positions, some families such as Corinnidae were only observed within the interior and edge of the blueberry field assemblages, while the family Hahniidae was only observed in the forest border assemblage. Our preliminary findings show a diverse ground-dwelling spider community in blueberry fields in Georgia, and perhaps an effect of field edge on spider abundance. Further analysis is needed to reveal the overall within-farm seasonal patterns of ground-dwelling spiders.