Trapdoor spider population in sharp decline in southern Australia

They might give you the shivers, but trapdoor spiders play an important part in Australia's ecosystem and their decline could be to our detriment, a biology professor has warned. "It's a little bit concerning and we don't quite know what is going on," Professor Andrew Austin, from the University of Adelaide's Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, said. Professor Austin said follow-up surveys from data collected in the 1950s and 1970s showed a sharp decline in numbers throughout southern Australia. In 1950 researchers reported 122 findings in 18 collection days, there were 46 findings throughout 27 days between 1960 and 1990, but only 18 findings in 10 days in 2014. Professor Austin said although the spiders might not list highly on most people's list of favourite animals, the role it played was very important. "They're playing a major role as predators on other invertebrates," he said. "If you end up eliminating a significant component to [the ecosystem] it causes perturbations through the system".

Source: ABC, 13 Dec 16
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-13/trapdoor-spider-numbers-in-seriou…