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Bates College

Publication Date

Fall 2008

Program Name

Tanzania-Zanzibar: Coastal Ecology and Natural Resource Management

Abstract

The distribution of spiders into vertical layers was studied on Misali Island. In particular, differences in diversity, species richness, abundance, and body length were analyzed. A variety of collection methods were used in order to capture as many different species as possible from three levels of forest: leaf litter, groundcover (up to 1m), and understory (up to 3m). After being sorted to the morphospecies level, the spiders were cataloged and several statistical tests were run. These tests show that spiders do show species-level stratification between different levels of forest. They also pointed towards a particularly firm dividing line between species of the understory and those of the groundcover which discourages crossover.

Disciplines

Entomology

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Entomology Commons

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