A little goes a long way: a rapid sampling protocol repeated seasonally generates considerable spider biodiversity data in an arid national park

Abstract

The Richtersveld National Park (RNP) is situated in the extreme north-western part of South Africa and protects a large proportion of the Desert Biome in the country, as well as part of the globally significant Succulent Karoo Biome. Prior to 2021, only 92 spider species had been recorded from the park, but some historical records are misidentified. To generate spider diversity data from the RNP, we carried out sampling in four biotopes using a standardized rapid sampling protocol (RSP), repeated in mid-summer (January 2021) and winter (July 2021) to assess seasonal changes in assemblage composition. In total, 2409 spiders were collected, representing 121 species and 32 families. Spider abundance and species richness were far higher in winter ( n = 1546, S = 110) than in summer ( n = 863, S = 75). Additional collecting at other sites yielded 60 species in total, of which 13 had not been recorded historically or using the RSP. Of the 92 historically recorded species, 62 were not collected using the RSP or in additional collecting samples. An updated checklist of the spider fauna of the RNP now includes 190 species (53 probably undescribed) in 37 families, more than doubling the historical records, and provides a useful foundation for conducting ecological research in the park. Furthermore, 191 specimens representing 120 species were sequenced for a national DNA barcoding project to aid future identification. Our study highlights the importance of developing appropriate and achievable RSPs to address shortages in biodiversity data, particularly in under-resourced developing countries.

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