A new species of <i>Ocyale</i> (Araneae, Lycosidae) from Madagascar, with first observations on the biology of a representative in the genus

A large white species of wolf spider, Ocyale ghost Jocque M. & Jocque R. sp. nov., is described from a white sandy beach of an inland freshwater lake in the northwest of Madagascar. The first photos of a living specimen of the genus Ocyale are provided together with some observations on the biology of the newly described species. An updated and illustrated key to the Afrotropical species of Ocyale is included here

South African National Survey of Arachnida : a checklist of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve, Limpopo Province, South Africa

The aim of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) is to document the Arachnida fauna of South Africa. One of the focus areas of SANSA is to survey protected areas to obtain species-specific information, and species distribution patterns for Red Data assessments. Here, we provide the first checklist of the spider species of Lekgalameetse Nature Reserve (LNR) in the Limpopo province of South Africa collected during five surveys between 2009 and 2016 using methods targeting both the ground and field layers. Forty-five families, represented by 168 genera and 268 species, have been collected so far. The most species-rich families were the Salticidae (41 spp.) and Araneidae (38 spp.), followed by the Thomisidae (33 spp.), while 11 families were represented by one species. Information on spider guilds, endemicity value and conservation status are provided. The LNR protects approximately 12.2% of the total South African spider fauna. Two species, Hasarinella distincta Haddad & Wesołowska, 2013 (Salticidae) and Ballomma legala Jocqué & Henrard, 2015 (Zodariidae), are presently known to be endemic to the reserve. CONSERVATION IMPLICATIONS : The LNR falls within the Savanna Biome in the Limpopo province. Only five spider species were previously known from the reserve and 263 spp. are reported from the reserve for the first time. Thirteen species are possibly new to science and 2 species represent new distribution records for South Africa.http://www.koedoe.co.za/am2017Zoology and Entomolog

Ghost-busting: Patch occupancy and habitat preferences of Ocyale ghost (Araneae: Lycosidae), a single site endemic in north-western Madagascar

Microendemic species are of great conservation concern due to their vulnerability to stochastic events and environmental change. Therefore, understanding the basic ecology of such organisms is integral to future efforts to conserve them. Here, we present the first ecological study of the only known population of Ocyale ghost (Lycosidae) – the single species within this genus in Madagascar – located at a small lake shore in the north-west of the island. We aimed to reveal spatial patterns of microhabitat selection and patch occupancy in relation to substrate patch covariates, including distance to lake edge, topography, and sand coverage. We found microhabitat selection to be strong in our occupancy models, with plots closer to the lake edge and with a higher proportion of sand showing the highest estimated occupancy. We suggest decreases in prey availability and changes in the physical characteristics of the substrate in relation to the distance from lake shore and sand availability (important for burrowing and temperature regulation), respectively, as potential factors behind occupancy. We discuss our findings in the context of the proportional underrepresentation of invertebrates in conservation research, which threatens the persistence of endemic and microendemic invertebrates in the face of significant global and local environmental change

South African National Survey of Arachnida: A checklist of the spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve in the Northern Cape province, South Africa

One of the aims of South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) is to survey protected areas to obtain species-specific information and compile inventories to determine species distribution patterns and evaluate their conservation status for Red Data assessments. The aim of this study, the first in a series of surveys of the Diamond Route Reserves, was to compile the first checklist of the spider species in the Northern Cape at the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve. Spiders were collected during three survey periods (2005−2013) using different collecting methods to sample both the ground and field layers. In total, 32 families represented by 108 genera and 136 species have been collected so far. The most species-rich families are the Salticidae (20 spp.) and Thomisidae (18 spp.), followed by the Gnaphosidae and Araneidae (11 spp. each), while nine families are represented by singletons. The free-living wandering spiders represent 97 spp., while 39 spp. are web-builders. Information on spider guilds, endemicity value and conservation status are provided. The Tswalu Kalahari Reserve protects approximately 6.1% of the total South African spider fauna, while 24.3% of the species found in the reserve are South African endemics, of which 5.9% are Northern Cape endemics. Approximately 6.0% of the species sampled are possibly new to science or represent new records for South Africa. Conservation implications: The Tswalu Kalahari Reserve falls within the Savanna Biome in the Northern Cape province. Only one spider species was previously known from the reserve; a further 135 spp. are reported for the first time, with 5.9% of the species being Northern Cape endemics and 24.3% South African endemics. Approximately 6.0% of the species may be new to science or represent new records for South Africa

Climate influences the response of community functional traits to local conditions in bromeliad invertebrate communities

Functional traits determine an organism's performance in a given environment and as such determine which organisms will be found where. Species respond to local conditions, but also to larger scale gradients, such as climate. Trait ecology links these responses of species to community composition and species distributions. Yet, we often do not know which environmental gradients are most important in determining community trait composition at either local or biogeographical scales, or their interaction. Here we quantify the relative contribution of local and climatic conditions to the structure and composition of functional traits found within bromeliad invertebrate communities. We conclude that climate explains more variation in invertebrate trait composition within bromeliads than does local conditions. Importantly, climate mediated the response of traits to local conditions; for example, invertebrates with benthic life‐history traits increased with bromeliad water volume only under certain precipitation regimes. Our ability to detect this and other patterns hinged on the compilation of multiple fine‐grained datasets, allowing us to contrast the effect of climate versus local conditions. We suggest that, in addition to sampling communities at local scales, we need to aggregate studies that span large ranges in climate variation in order to fully understand trait filtering at local, regional and global scales

Modelling Hurricane Exposure and Wind Speed on a Mesoclimate Scale: A Case Study from Cusuco NP, Honduras

High energy weather events are often expected to play a substantial role in biotic community dynamics and large scale diversity patterns but their contribution is hard to prove. Currently, observations are limited to the documentation of accidental records after the passing of such events. A more comprehensive approach is synthesising weather events in a location over a long time period, ideally at a high spatial resolution and on a large geographic scale. We provide a detailed overview on how to generate hurricane exposure data at a meso-climate level for a specific region. As a case study we modelled landscape hurricane exposure in Cusuco National Park (CNP), Honduras with a resolution of 50 m×50 m patches. We calculated actual hurricane exposure vulnerability site scores (EVVS) through the combination of a wind pressure model, an exposure model that can incorporate simple wind dynamics within a 3-dimensional landscape and the integration of historical hurricanes data. The EVSS was calculated as a weighted function of sites exposure, hurricane frequency and maximum wind velocity. Eleven hurricanes were found to have affected CNP between 1995 and 2010. The highest EVSS's were predicted to be on South and South-East facing sites of the park. Ground validation demonstrated that the South-solution (i.e. the South wind inflow direction) explained most of the observed tree damage (90% of the observed tree damage in the field). Incorporating historical data to the model to calculate actual hurricane exposure values, instead of potential exposure values, increased the model fit by 50%