Population dynamics of the silver garden spider Argiope argentata (Araneidae) in an urban park and variation of their web decorations

• Grant number: 24/18167-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: João Vasconcellos Neto
• Grantee: Gabriel Pinheiro Costa
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Studies on population dynamics address the variation in the number of individuals of a species and biotic factors such as prey availability, abiotic natural enemies and abiotic factors such as temperature and precipitation that affect them. In our study of spider population dynamics, we are using the spider Argiope argentata as a model species, in an anthropized area in the city of Campinas-SP. We are counting individuals and also recording their respective instars. To verify the role of prey in its population dynamics, we distributed traps for sampling and related the abundance of prey to the abundance of spiders throughout the year. This same data set will allow us to compare available prey with those found in the webs. In addition to relating climatic variables to the abundance of spiders, we are also comparing the patterns of decorations present in their webs, relating them to the spider's stage of development and whether there is a relationship with the degree of shading in the habitat. Our hypotheses are that we will find a reproduction pattern with well-characterized phenology in its age structure throughout the year and that adult spiders have linear cross-shaped decorations, while young spiders have circular decorations, in addition to that in shadier environments the decorations are less frequent.