Count data for all spider species collected from three habitats in the UK Cairngorms between 2004 and 2021. Spiders were collected using pitfall traps on a two-weekly basis from March to November, with counts aggregated by habitat and date. The data was recorded by the same expert araneologist for the entire 18-year period and is provided by the Environmental Information Data Centre.
Use Cases
- Modeling long-term population trends for spider species based on 18 years of consistent collection.
- Comparing invertebrate predator communities across mire, dwarf-shrub heath, and pine woodland habitats.
- Analyzing gender ratio changes in spider populations over time based on recorded male and female counts.
- Studying seasonal activity patterns of ground-dwelling spiders based on two-weekly sampling from March to November.
Strengths
- Data collection spans 18 years (2004-2021), enabling long-term trend analysis.
- Counts are disaggregated by gender and habitat (mire, dwarf-shrub heath, pine woodland).
- Consistent methodology with ten pitfall traps per habitat, spaced 10m apart, and identification by the same expert for the entire period.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific modeling tasks.
Provenance
- Source
- Environmental Information Data Centre
- Collection Method
- Spiders collected in pitfall traps on a two-weekly basis, with samples aggregated by habitat and collection date.
- Time Range
- 2004-2021
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-03-19 07:33:59.870101; freshness should be verified.
- Geography
- Cairngorms Environmental Change Network (ECN) site, UK