Publication Date
Fall 2025
Abstract
Bromeliads are a plant group that have been praised for their ability to create unique microhabitats, hosting an abundant and diverse faunal community due to their unique structural characteristics. Unfortunately, as deforestation rates rise, this plant group is at risk of decreasing in both abundance and diversity, which puts their associated organisms at risk of losing essential habitat (e.g. spiders). In this study, the effect of bromeliad structural characteristics and forest disturbance was assessed in a mature and secondary forest by classifying bromeliad abundance by forest type, characterizing forest structure, and by analyzing spider abundance and diversity based on these variables. Of the tested bromeliad characteristics, only bromeliad size was found to be an accurate predictor of its associated spider community. Contrary to expectations, spider abundance and diversity increased in a secondary forest habitat compared to a mature forest habitat, suggesting that bromeliads may serve as potential refuges for certain taxa during anthropogenic disturbance.
Disciplines
Life Sciences
Recommended Citation
Fairchild, Alesandra, "Size matters: Linkage between bromeliad traits and the spider communities they host in a disturbed habitat" (2025). Ecuador: Comparative Ecology and Conservation. 6.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ece/6