Publications

Abstract: From May 31, 2025 to June 04, 2025 a survey of spiders and other arthropods was conducted at the 2,600-acre Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary, in the barrier island portion of Currituck County, North Carolina.
The habitat in this diverse area includes extensive Freshwater Marshes, Maritime Forest, Stable Dune Barrens, Ponds (shallow, rain filled), Old Fields, Lawns or mowed fields, Human Structures/houses, Maritime Evergreen Forest, Maritime Swamp Forest, Maritime Shrub, Maritime Wet Grassland and Maritime Shrub Swamp. (M. Schafale, NCHP site survey)
Methods in each above habitat included day-time visual surveys, sweep netting, litter sifting, beat sheets, vacuum, nighttime visual surveys with headlamp and nighttime visual surveys with UV light.
A total of 89 species of spiders were detected, which is a robust number for any one site in a short window of surveys in one season. Each habitat had a diversity and abundance of arthropods. Many habitat specialists were present, and some families were represented with species adapted to their habitats to the exclusion of others.
The presence of habitat specialists and overall diversity of arthropods and predatory arthropods, would indicate the habitat here is pristine and a keystone to biodiversity in coastal habitats.
The vast majority of sightings were new records for this under surveyed county. Very little work has been done in this portion of the state and historic records are obscure on which county or state where collections have occurred.
All records have been submitted to the North Carolina Biodiversity Project (NCBP) databases, including the Arachnids of North Carolina, Butterflies of North Carolina, Odonates of North Carolina, Beetles of North Carolina and Moths of North Carolina.
Several voucher specimens were obtained and will be stored at the NCSU Entomology Laboratory, GUID numbers will be attached to vouchers and added to the database records on the NCBP. Photograph based identifications were made for common species, and are subject to errors involved with the methodology.