Living on burrowed time: mygalomorph spiders in Perth city

Abstract

This invertebrate conservation study assessed threatening processes that may affect the presence and persistence of mygalomorph spiders in 42 discrete patches of urban vegetation remnants in Perth, south-western Australia. Mygalomorph spiders were used as surrogates of ‘short-range endemics’ i.e. taxa with shared traits of low dispersal capacity, low mobility, low fecundity and with an entire distribution within 10 000 km2. Effects of habitat quality, invasive grass, fire and predation on spiders was assessed.