Bromeliads provide shelter against fire to mutualistic spiders in a fire‐prone landscape |
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Authors: | PAULA M. DE OMENA MÔNICA F. KERSCH‐BECKER PABLO A. P. ANTIQUEIRA TIAGO N. BERNABÉ SANDRA BENAVIDES‐GORDILLO FÁTIMA C. RECALDE CAMILA VIEIRA GUSTAVO H. MIGLIORINI GUSTAVO Q. ROMERO |
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Affiliation: | 1. Laboratório de Intera??es Multitróficas e Biodiversidade, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil;2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA;3. Programa de Pós‐Gradua??o em Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho”, S?o José do Rio Preto, Brazil;4. Programa de Pós‐Gradua??o em Ecologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil;5. Programa de Pós‐Gradua??o em Ecologia e Conserva??o de Recursos Naturais, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Brazil |
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Abstract: | 1. A key challenge in the study of mutualistic interactions is understanding sources of variation that strengthen or weaken these interactions. In spider–plant mutualisms, spiders benefit plants by improving plant nutrition and protecting plants from herbivory. Although the benefits of plants to spider growth and survival are often claimed, they are rarely demonstrated. 2. In this study, empirical evidence is provided that bromeliads (Bromelia balansae, Bromeliaceae) are essential for the resilience of the mutualistic bromeliad‐living jumping spider populations (Psecas chapoda, Salticidae) after a fire event, sheltering spiders from the heat of the flames. 3. Spider populations were compared before and after a natural fire event and it was shown that spiders of different ages survived the fire. The survival of such individuals allowed the population of P. chapoda spiders to recover rapidly, returning to pre‐fire levels in 5 months. 4. Bromeliads reduced the susceptibility of P. chapoda spiders to burning, and this mutualistic relationship contributed to the resilience of the spider population after a fire event. It is suggested that frequent fires in fire‐prone landscapes may have strengthened this spider–plant relationship, contributing to the maintenance and evolution of this association. |
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Keywords: | Mutualism protection resilience savanna‐like ecosystem spider– plant interaction |
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