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Multiple Factors at Regional, Landscape, and Local Scales Determine Spider Assemblage Composition in Pomegranate Orchards

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  • Ibrahim N. A. Salman

    (Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel
    French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel)

  • Yael Lubin

    (Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 8499000, Israel)

  • Efrat Gavish-Regev

    (The National Natural History Collections, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Giv’at Ram, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190401, Israel)

Abstract

Orchards may support high spider diversity relative to annual crops due to their structural complexity and relative stability. Multiple environmental conditions at the landscape, regional, and local scales may influence the assemblage composition of spiders in orchards. We asked which environmental variables best explains spider assemblage composition and the similarity of the assemblages of pomegranate orchards located along a latitudinal gradient in Israel? Spiders were sampled from twelve pomegranate orchards along a climatic gradient from north to south. Orchards located at higher latitudes had richer assemblages than orchards located at lower latitudes. The assemblage composition was influenced at the large scale by latitude and annual crop cover in the surrounding landscape but not by local factors. By contrast, functional groups based on foraging strategies were affected by local scale factors, such as vegetation within the orchards. This study demonstrates the importance of considering environmental variables at different scales to understand the factors affecting the assemblage composition of naturally occurring predators in the orchard.

Suggested Citation

  • Ibrahim N. A. Salman & Yael Lubin & Efrat Gavish-Regev, 2022. "Multiple Factors at Regional, Landscape, and Local Scales Determine Spider Assemblage Composition in Pomegranate Orchards," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:4:p:512-:d:786927
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Udi Segev & Jaime Kigel & Yael Lubin & Katja Tielbörger, 2015. "Ant Abundance along a Productivity Gradient: Addressing Two Conflicting Hypotheses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
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