20th International Congress of Arachnology

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58 DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE REPORTS | No. 3, July 2, 2016
Cushing
Student - oral presentation
Molecular systematics of the Neotropical
orb-weaving spider genus Wagneriana
F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1904 (Araneae,
Araneidae)
*Jimmy Cabra-García, Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha
Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Uni-
versidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brazil
Although the taxonomy of the orb-weaving spider family
Araneidae is relatively well settled, due to Dr. Herbert Levi’s
revisions, the monophyly of most genera was not rigorously
tested and the phylogenetic relationships among them are
not well supported, hampering evolutionary research. Using
a combination of three mtDNA and six nuDNA loci, we
provide the first species-level phylogeny of the Neotropical
orb-weaving spider genus Wagneriana including 70% of its
described species. Our results do not support the monophyly
of the genus since the type species of Acanthepeira (A.
stellata) falls inside a well supported Wagneriana clade.
Within Wagneriana several monophyletic groups are
recovered with high support values. Some morphological
characters that Levi (1991 used in the identification key of
Wagneriana species seem to be putative synapomorphies.
This study shows partial results of an ongoing research
project and our conclusions should be considered as pre-
liminary. More thorough taxon sampling, specially within
the subfamily Araneinae, and detailed study of morpho-
logical characters will allow us to propose a more rigorous
hypothesis considering the total evidence approach.
Keywords: systematics, molecular phylogenetics,
taxonomy, Araneae, Araneidae
Student - oral presentation
Integrative species delimitation in the har-
vestman subfamily Briggsinae (Opiliones,
Laniatores)
*Allan Cabrero, Marshal Hedin
Department of Biology, San Diego State University,
San Diego, CA, USA
The Pacific Northwest is home to many described species
of laniatorean harvestmen (Arachnida, Opiliones). Due
to their limited dispersal and habitat specialization, the
diversity within this order is probably underestimated.
Limited dispersal and habitat specialization can lead
to conserved morphology and possible cryptic species.
Harvestmen in the subfamily Briggsinae exemplify this
pattern, with all taxa limited to moist coastal forests and/
or lava tube habitats. The Briggsinae were described by
Thomas Briggs in 1971 and includes two genera, Briggsus
(five species) and Isolachus (one species). Preliminary
molecular studies also indicate the inclusion of a third
genus within the subfamily, Speleonychia (one species).
Molecular phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses
were conducted for Isolachus and Briggsus . Multivariate
cluster analyses of morphometric data were used to gen-
erate different species hypothesis. In addition, qualitative
somatic and genitalic male characters were used in the
discovery phase. Species trees were reconstructed using
multispecies coalescent-based methods implemented in
*BEAST. Putative species were then validated using Bayes
Factor Delimitation. DNA sequence data from six genes
delimited seven species in Briggsus and confirms the
placement of Speleonychia within the Briggsidae. New
species were described using molecules and morphology.
Keywords: Opiliones, Laniatores, systematics, species
delimitation
Oral presentation
Spiders in grazed pastures: comparisons
between rotational vs. conventional grazing
Alan B. Cady1 , Tim Bankroff2, Jonathan Coddington3
1 Department of Biology, Miami University, Middletown, OH
45042, USA; 2688 Main Street, Hingham, MA 02043, USA;
3 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
Understanding arthropod community structures and
dynamics associated with different grazers and grazing
deferment schedules may provide a metric allowing iden-
tification of sustainable grazing regimes. Sampling the
arthropod and spider communities inhabiting a rotational
grazing schedule versus conventional grazing provided an