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Arkansas Tarantula Survey
Why conduct a survey for tarantulas?
Texas brown tarantula (John Pelton)
Long Life
As a group, tarantulas possess certain characteristics that might put them at increased risk to localized extinctions. Tarantulas are unique among spiders as they have relatively long life spans. Male and female tarantulas do not reach sexual maturity until 8-10 years of age and, although males die shortly after breeding, females may live for 20-25 years. As a result, individual tarantulas must survive for a long period of time (a very long time for your average spider) before they are even capable of reproduction.
Homebodies
Tarantulas, especially adult females, are thought to be very site-persistent with individual females living for many years within the same burrow. In addition, offspring produced by females do not tend to disperse very far from where they were born. Living in the same spot year after year, rarely moving, puts tarantulas at heightened risk to such factors as habitat destruction which could reduce or even eliminate localized populations.
Habitat Preference
In places like Missouri, research indicates that tarantulas may be associated with specific habitat types. Surveys conducted in that state found tarantulas to be common in glades. This sort of habitat is now rare in Arkansas as a result of mining, fire suppression, and urban development. What impact habitat destruction has had on tarantulas in Arkansas is unknown. Also, if tarantulas have declined that could be an indication that other glade-inhabiting species are not faring well either.
Baseline Information Needed
Due to the combination of delayed maturity, long-life span, site-persistence, and possible reliance upon a specific habitat type, tarantulas could be especially sensitive to habitat loss and/or degradation. To better understand the possible conservation needs of tarantulas, baseline information regarding where these spiders occur needs to be gathered. The data generated from this survey will provide a piece of that puzzle and provide insight into the conservation of tarantulas in Arkansas.
