SURVEY OF THE LITTLE SPIDER COMMUNITY IN CHAPADA DAS MESAS NATIONAL PARK, MARANHÃO, BRAZIL

Abstract

The order Araneae belongs to the class Arachnida, comprising arachnids such as harvestmen, scorpions, and spiders. This order is considered megadiverse, and its organisms inhabit nearly every environment on Earth. Studies show that the greatest spider diversity is found in tropical regions; however, Brazil's biomes have a high rate of undersampling. The Northeast region, more specifically the state of Maranhão, has only recently been sampled for its araneofauna. In this context, this study aimed to survey leaf litter spider communities in forest areas of Chapada das Mesas National Park (PNCM), Carolina, Maranhão. The capture method used was the Winkler extractor, carried out at four points within the PNCM, where four 30x10m plots were demarcated, totaling 48 samples. Environmental variables such as temperature and humidity were recorded at the beginning, middle, and end of the collection at each point, as well as the depth of the leaf litter, in each plot, every 5 meters, totaling six measurements per plot. A total of 51 individuals were collected, of which 27 were juveniles and 24 were adults, distributed across 14 families. Salticidae was the most abundant family, followed by Linyphiidae. Among the adult organisms, the highest number of females was recorded. The occurrence of 19 morphospecies was recorded, with Oonopidae sp. 1 having the highest abundance of individuals. The environmental variables sampled did not significantly affect the richness, abundance, or composition of the spider community, which may be a result of the low sample size and number of adults collected, since previous studies conducted in the same region and using the same methods found significant effects.