Spider Diversity in San Francisco, Agusan de Sur, Philippines

Spiders play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance and serve as important ecological indicators. This study aimed to assess spider diversity within the agri-ecosystem of San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, utilizing the transect-quadrat method across two elevation stations (42 and 142 meters above sea level). We recorded abiotic factors, including humidity and temperature, during our survey. A total of 219 spider individuals were identified, representing six families, ten genera, and twelve species, with Tetragnatha montana being the most abundant and ecologically significant species. The dominance index was low, suggesting a lack of a single dominant species, while the diversity index indicated a moderate level of diversity across all stations and pooled data. Statistical analyses using a distance-based linear model (DistLM) revealed a significant correlation between temperature and spider species assemblage, while humidity and elevation exhibited negative correlations with spider diversity. These findings underscore the importance of temperature in shaping spider communities and highlight the relevance of spider diversity in agricultural ecosystems, which may inform future conservation and management practices.