Corresponding author: Takeshi Osawa (
Academic editor: Robert Mesibov
Spiders (
We made an inventory of spiders on Yakushima Island by collecting specimens in five forests (two plantations and three natural forests) with Malaise and window traps from 2006 to 2008 (a total of 637 traps). We collected 3487 specimens, representing 31 families and 165 species or morphotypes, including undescribed and unidentified species. All specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol, and all data were gathered into a Darwin Core Archives as sample event data. The data set is available from the GBIF network (
Taxa that are suitable as ecological indicators are sensitive to environmental changes and therefore demonstrate negative effects of anthropogenic disturbance on the processes or functioning of an ecosystem (
Yakushima Island in southwestern Japan is home to a unique forest ecosystem in which a gradient of subtropical to subarctic vegetation remains along the elevational gradient (
We surveyed spider (
Sustainability and biodiversity assessment on forest utilization options
Yakushima Island is a granite island (ca. 505 km2) surrounded by sedimentary rocks and is located approximately 70 km south of Kyushu, Japan (Fig.
Fig.
Insect traps were set at five sites in three regions: old-growth evergreen forests (Aikodake and Han-yama) and neighboring 40-year-old Japanese cedar (
A Townes-type Malaise trap and IBOY-type window trap were used for sampling spiders. These types of trap are suited to a monitoring program in forest habitat because they capture a wide range of spiders, excluding some ground-dwelling forms. The Malaise trap had openings with a height of 1.8 m and a length of 1.8 m on both sides, and the attached bottles contain a mixture of 70% ethanol and a small amount of ethylene glycol for fixation and preservation of samples. Three Malaise traps were set at each study site at intervals of about 20 m (15 in total). Malaise traps were set continuously from July 2006 to March 2008, and samples were collected about once every month. The IBOY window trap consists of crossed transparent acrylic collision boards on a yellow bucket with a diameter of 36 cm, in which 1.5 L of water containing 10 ml of neutral detergent and 10% acetic acid aqueous solution is placed. We hunged these window traps at a height of about 30 cm above the ground. The window traps were set for 3 days in the latter half of each month from July 2006 to February 2008. The samples collected by each trap were brought back to the laboratory, and spiders were identified and counted.
The census was conducted in three regions on Yakushima: Aikodake, with both natural (
In total, 3487 individuals belonging to 162 species, including morphotypes from 31 families, were collected during the censuses. Of these collections, two records have already been published as papers (
All specimens were identified by the authors according to
Order:
Family:
The term of this census was 3 years (2006–2008). The 2006 census was from July to December, with 227 events (traps) in total; in 2007 from January to December, with 351 events in total; and in 2008 from January to March, with 58 events in total. Each event has a term of 3 days to about 1 month.
Other
Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0
dwca-yakushimaspyder01-v1.1
1
Specimen records of spiders (
Darwin Core Archive
The data sets are stored on the website of the corresponding author and have been uploaded to the JBIF (GBIF Japan) portal.
Column label | Column description |
---|---|
darwin core event | darwin core event |
We sincerely thank Dr. Shin-ichiro Aiba (Kagoshima University), Dr. Ryo Tsujino (Nara University of Education), and Dr. Takakazu Yumoto (Kyoto University) for setting traps, and we thank Mr. Kenji Tezuka, Mrs. Tatsuko Tezuka, and Mr. Toshihiro Saito for collecting samples from the traps. This study was partly supported by the research project “Sustainability and biodiversity assessment on forest utilization options” launched by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature.
A. Dataset owner, identification and contact person - Name: Yuki Baba
B. Data management and release on GBIF network - Name: Takeshi Osawa
C. Data collection and identification - Name: Takeo Yamauchi
D. Identification and data cleaning - Names: Tatsumi Suguro, Noriaki Naya
Study area and monitoring sites.