<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Decreased ambient temperature and shorter reproductive seasons are the two main obstacles that ectotherms face at higher elevations. Studies have shown that some life history traits such as phenological windows of activity, duration, and fitness components vary as elevation increases. However, studies on the elevational gradient at the southern range limit of species are lacking. In this study, we aim at assessing some aspects of the life history of a spider species, the sprassid <italic>Micrommata ligurina</italic> (C.L. Koch, 1845), across an elevational gradient from 30 to 1030 m in Northeast Algeria. There was strong evidence of an elevational shift in the phenology of reproduction with a delay rate of 2.2 days per 100 m of elevation, and the three quantiles of the phenology (10, 50, and 90%) shifted with the same magnitude across elevation. In all sites from low to high elevation, the species showed a decrease in number of individuals. The mean number of eggs was 200 ± 35 eggs, and the mean number of hatching eggs was 110.9 ± 23.5 eggs. The clutch size at high elevation sites was higher than that of low-elevation sites, but in contrast, the hatching success was higher at lower elevation sites. Overall, the species exhibited clear elevational clines in life history traits and abundance, suggesting a high potential of plasticity. This work constitutes the first study carried out on spider species ecology in the region.</p>
</abstract>

Decreased ambient temperature and shorter reproductive seasons are the two main obstacles that ectotherms face at higher elevations. Studies have shown that some life history traits such as phenological windows of activity, duration, and fitness components vary as elevation increases. However, studies on the elevational gradient at the southern range limit of species are lacking. In this study, we aim at assessing some aspects of the life history of a spider species, the sprassid Micrommata ligurina (C.L. Koch, 1845), across an elevational gradient from 30 to 1030 m in Northeast Algeria. There was strong evidence of an elevational shift in the phenology of reproduction with a delay rate of 2.2 days per 100 m of elevation, and the three quantiles of the phenology (10, 50, and 90%) shifted with the same magnitude across elevation. In all sites from low to high elevation, the species showed a decrease in number of individuals. The mean number of eggs was 200 ± 35 eggs, and the mean number of hatching eggs was 110.9 ± 23.5 eggs. The clutch size at high elevation sites was higher than that of low-elevation sites, but in contrast, the hatching success was higher at lower elevation sites. Overall, the species exhibited clear elevational clines in life history traits and abundance, suggesting a high potential of plasticity. This work constitutes the first study carried out on spider species ecology in the region.

Reproductive phenology of the spider <italic>Micrommata ligurina</italic> (C.L. Koch, 1845) (Araneae; Sparassidae) across an elevational gradient in Northeast Algeria

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences

Faculty of Sciences of Nature and Life and Sciences of the Earth and the Universe

Laboratory of Biology, Water and Environment

Institute of Science and Technology, Abdelhafid Boussouf-Mila University Center

Laboratory of Marine and Coastal Environments Ecobiology

Ekológia (Bratislava)

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Reproductive phenology of the spider  (C.L. Koch, 1845) (Araneae; Sparassidae) across an elevational gradient in Northeast Algeria

Decreased ambient temperature and shorter reproductive seasons are the two main obstacles that ectotherms face at higher elevations. Studies have shown that...

Reproductive phenology of the spider Micrommata ligurina (C.L. Koch, 1845) (Araneae; Sparassidae) across an elevational gradient in Northeast Algeria

Published Online: Oct 17, 2022

Page range: 254 - 261

Received: Jan 20, 2022

Accepted: Jun 05, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2022-0026

Keywords
life history, hatching success, elevation gradients, North Africa

© 2022 Soufyane Bensouilah et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Reproductive phenology of the spider Micrommata ligurina (C.L. Koch, 1845) (Araneae; Sparassidae) across an elevational gradient in Northeast Algeria

Published Online: Oct 17, 2022

Page range: 254 - 261

Received: Jan 20, 2022

Accepted: Jun 05, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eko-2022-0026

Keywordslife history, hatching success, elevation gradients, North Africa

© 2022 Soufyane Bensouilah et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
life history, hatching success, elevation gradients, North Africa