Monitoring spider communities of Waiuku dune lakes using DNA barcoding

Report: TR 2016/42

Author: Nigel Binks (University of Waikato)

About this report

This project compared mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I gene nucleotide sequences to discriminate between species. Of the 190 spider (Araneae) specimen sent for DNA sequencing as part of this study, 172 were successfully barcoded. From these it was determined that there were 37 species present between the three lake sites, 16 of which have international distributions (INDI species). There were 17 shared species present at all lakes, including 8 INDI species. Biogeographic taxa interpretations of spiders are often misleading and inconclusive, however, molecular data provides an additional dimension for the taxonomic study of New Zealand’s largely endemic spider taxa. It is concluded that DNA barcoding is an effective method of alleviating species identifications in the marginal vegetation of lakes. This project enhances the inventory and understanding of spider diversity and population distributions around Waikato lake margins. The community assemblages of these pasture dominated catchment lakes share a range of spider species in common, including cosmopolitan pasture generalists and freshwater specialists worthy of further biogeographic investigation.

There are several potential applications for using DNA barcoding to identify spiders in the Waikato region, including: (i) identification of indigenous spiders in marginal vegetation as a restoration effectiveness monitoring tool; (ii) increase comparability and rigour of biodiversity inventory and monitoring studies; and (iii) contribute to further understanding of biogeographic patterns of spider species distribution.

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Monitoring spider communities of Waiuku dune lakes using DNA barcoding [PDF, 4.2 MB]