New Study Reveals That Tree Species Diversity Increases Spider Density

by Georgia Jiang, University of Maryland
July 25, 2023

Spiders are often maligned for being creepy critters, but they are some of the most environmentally friendly pest regulators. Because they actively feed on flies, moths, mosquitoes and roaches, spiders eliminate parasites and many other vectors of disease—protecting both humans and plants from harm.

A new University of Maryland-led study published online in the journal Ecology found one simple way to take advantage of this natural ecosystem service: give tree-dwelling spiders a more diverse habitat.

“We found that there’s a strong link between the species diversity of tree habitats and the population density of the spiders that live in them,” said Karin Burghardt, senior author of the study and assistant professor of entomology at UMD. “Spiders really like complex habitats, so having a large variety of tree species with different structural features like height, canopy cover and foliage density will help increase spider abundance and also the natural pest regulation they provide.”

The study is part of the ‘BiodiversiTREE’ project, a series of large-scale, long-term experiments aimed at restoring diverse coastal forests along compromised shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay. Conducted by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and collaborators from institutions like UMD, BiodiversiTree investigates the role of tree species diversity in forest responses to climate change from the molecular to the watershed level.

Keep reading: https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/karin-burghardt-new-study-reveals-tree-species-diversity-increases-spider-density

Read the Ecology paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.4116