Population dynamics and association of Selenops cocheleti Simon, 1880 (Araneae: Selenopidae) with plants of family Myrtaceae in the Serra do Japi, São Paulo, Brasil

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe study of population dynamics describes the changes that are the biological communities and the factors and mechanisms that regulate. In spiders, the study of fluctuations in size and/or population density can be affected by several biotic and abiotic variables. These changes can be measured in part by spatial variations, which are strongly correlated with the structure of the habitat and hunting practices of their prey. On the other hand, studies directed towards the understanding the interactions of plants with spiders are still scarce, especially if the spiders inhabit only plants with specific morphologies and if those specific associations remain with the host plants. This study focuses on one genus with larger number of species within the family Selenopidae, the genera Selenops. The spiders of the family Selenopidae, described by Simon (1897), comprises less than 10 genera distributed worldwide, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. All members of this family are flattened dorsal-ventrally allowing them to hide in crevices or cracks against predators However, due to theirs quick movements and by the fact that they have nocturnal activities makes the knowledge that we have about the natural history still incipient. The purposes of this study are: (1) describe the population dynamics and the phenology of Selenops cocheleti (Selenopidae), relating abiotic factors, such as precipitation and temperature, as well as biotic factors such as predators and parasitoids and (2) study associations with plants especially the Myrtaceae family, which has a large number of species in the Serra do Japi and how the availability of these sites can affect the abundance (population dynamics) of this species of spider.Key words: Population dynamics, phenology, Myrtaceae, Selenopidae.