Influence of browsing on dwarf bamboo (Sasa nipponica) by Sika deer (Cervus nippon) on the structure of epigeal spider (Araneae) assemblage
2009
Ueda, A., Forestry and Forest Products Research Inst., Sapporo (Japan). Hokkaido Research Center | Hino, T. | Ito, H.
An overabundance of Sika deer (Cervus nippon Temminck, 1838) at Mt. Odaigahara, in central Japan has necessitated the introduction of exclusion fences to protect forest decline from excessive feeding damage. However, the effect of these exclusion fences on the biodiversity of arthropods within the protected areas has not been investigated. In this study we examined the indirect effects of reductions in the volume of dwarf bamboo (Sasa nipponica Makino et Shibata), the major forage for the deer, on associated with browsing by Sika deer on the structure of epigeal spider assemblage. Both the total number of epigeal spiders and the number of the most dominant spider genus, Cybaeus spp., collected tended to peak under the present bamboo volume. However, while adults of the next most dominant spider genus, Coelotes spp., tended to increase in abundance with bamboo volume, the abundance of immatures decreased with bamboo volume. These results suggest that promoting sites with various levels of browsing pressure by deer may be essential to maintain the diversity of epigeal spider assemblage in forests with dwarf bamboo.
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