Instructor, Director of Undergraduate Education & Outreach Coordinator University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas
Eipgeal predatory arthropods were collected with pitfall-style traps in sandstone glades of the Ozarks in Northern Arkansas from 2018-2020. The diversity of trap catches was compared from sites in varying states of habitat degradation at the hand of encroaching woody vegetation, primarily Eastern red cedars (Juniperus virginiana). Ground spiders of the family Gnaphosidae, predatory ground beetles of the family Carabidae, and the sole present species of scorpion (Centruroides vittatus), and tarantula (Aphonopelma hentzi) were reported on. Trapping methods developed for capture and monitoring of epigeal wandering species in shallow glade soils involved the development of a novel trap design. Monitoring of selected predatory arthropod groups in Ozark glades shows potential for use in habitat assessment.
