Undergraduate entomology field excursions are a valuable source of biodiversity data: a case for spider (Araneae) bycatches in ecological studies

Abstract

As part of an undergraduate Entomology module, field excursions were undertaken to a mixed livestock farm in central South Africa, during March–April 2015, 2016 and 2018–2020. The aim was for groups to determine and compare terrestrial arthropod biodiversity in three strata of three contrasting biotopes, with particular emphasis on insects. To determine the contributions such excursions make to documenting biodiversity of a non-target taxon, the spider (Arachnida: Araneae) data generated by students was compared with the local species richness (LSR) for the area. The LSR for the farm Bankfontein included a total of 242 species, representing 40 families. Over the 5 years, student groups sampled a total of 158 spider species, representing 65.3% of the LSR. The number of species sampled per year ranged between 57 and 94 for undergraduate students (1–3 groups), and was 119 species for the final year of the study carried out by the author and two post-graduate students (2 groups), which could be attributed to collector experience and modification of the sorting process for beat sampling, particularly. This study emphasizes the importance of utilizing students as a valuable resource to generate biodiversity data, particularly where financial and human resources may be limited.