The habitat preferences of web building spiders

Abstract

Habitat selection is an important decision to make by most species as consequences such as loss of fitness or even death can result if wrong choices are made. Web building spiders are ubiquitous species, and can be found in almost any type of environment from alpine forests to desert terrains. Factors influencing their choice of habitat is, however, still relatively unknown and has been observed to differ between populations, species and even individuals. This review will outline the main factors influencing the habitat selection of web building spiders, as well as potential constraints that may prohibit colonisation. Spiders are important components to ecosystems, providing food for a plethora of species as well as controlling levels of invertebrate prey. Understanding factors influencing the habitat selection of web building spiders is therefore important and must be studied further.