Arachnofauna of the tropical dry forest in the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest, Ecuador

Study Extent

Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco

Sampling

Ten sampling points with different degrees of disturbance and five night sampling points were determined. Foliage shaking: This technique consisted of shaking trees and shrubs with a maximum height of 2 m, during a 100m transect and with the help of a beating savanna formed by a white cloth of 1m x 1m to facilitate the observation of arthropods, we proceeded to capture the spiders that fell on the cloth by means of a buccal aspiration. The samples were preserved in 96% alcohol. Leaf litter sifting A square meter of leaf litter was collected and passed through a manual sifter to separate the larger particles from the smaller ones, which were then placed in winkler bags for 24 hours, so that the arthropods present would fall into the collection bottle with 70% alcohol. Pitfall traps: In transects of 250 meters, 10 pitfall traps were placed consisting of plastic tubs placed on the ground with soapy water to prevent the escape of different arthropods. They were checked every 48 hours and we proceeded to preserve the captured arthropods in jars with alcohol. Manual collection: As an accessory to the other methodologies, specimens of cryptic habitats such as rock dwellers and tree bark were complemented with manual collections with the help of a brush with alcohol and a mouth aspirator.

Method steps

1. Foliage shaking, leaf litter sifting, pitfall traps and manual collection.

Bosque Protector Cerro Blanco