Publications

@phdthesis{Hill2014,

title = {Spiders in California’s grassland mosaic: The effects of native and non-native grasses on spiders, their prey, and their interactions},

author = {Kirsten E. Hill},

url = {https://angelo.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/Hill_2014_UCBerkTheses.pdf},

year  = {2014},

date = {2014-01-01},

abstract = {Found in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems, small in size and able to occupy a variety of 

hunting niches, spiders’ consumptive effects on other arthropods can have important impacts for 

ecosystems. This dissertation describes research into spider populations and their interactions with 

potential arthropod prey in California’s native and non-native grasslands. In meadows found in 

northern California, native and non-native grassland patches support different functional groups of 

arthropod predators, sap-feeders, pollinators, and scavengers and arthropod diversity is linked to 

native plant diversity. 

Wandering spiders’ ability to forage within the meadow’s interior is linked to the distance 

from the shaded woodland boundary. Native grasses offer a cooler conduit into the meadow interior 

than non-native annual grasses during midsummer heat. Juvenile spiders in particular, are more 

abundant in the more structurally complex native dominated areas of the grassland. Potential prey 

species and abundance differ along the trajectory from woodland boundary to meadow interior and 

may have consequences for the survival of juvenile spiders that reside primarily near the woodland 

boundary. 

Spiders’ ability to influence the eating habits of potential prey species is regulated by 

temperature and grassland characteristics. In experimental wolf spider enclosures, cooler habitats in 

which spiders were present evidenced lower herbivory by large chewing invertebrates. Herbivory 

differed across a gradient of temperature and sunlight but newly restored plants in exposed and 

warmer soil faced higher rates of herbivory than established plants; herbivory may be better 

mediated by spider activity in cooler environments.},

keywords = {grasses, spiders},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {phdthesis}

}