Abstract

Fire-suppressed forests in Oak Mountain State Park (OMSP; Shelby County, AL) have undergone experimental prescribed burning as a means to restore the open canopy architecture and diverse understory characteristic of Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) communities. Populations of a ground-hunting spider, Ctenus hibernalis, in the forests of OMSP were studied in order to examine the effect of restoration efforts on populations of understory arthropods. Study sites included regions burned 1 year prior and 5 years prior, as well as a region that has experienced 2 decades of fire suppression. No individuals of C. hibernalis were found in the region burned 1 year prior. There was no significant difference in the total number of spiders in the fire-suppressed region and the region burned 5 years prior, although the body mass of the spiders in the region burned 5 years prior was significantly greater than those in the fire-suppressed region. These results suggest that increased resource availability related to prescribed burns leads to increased spider fitness.