It’s All about the Zone: Spider Assemblages in Different Ecological Zones of Levantine Caves

Caves possess a continuum of ecological zones that differ in their microhabitat conditions, resulting gradient nutrients, climate, and illumination. These conditions engender relatively rapid speciation diverse assemblages highly specialised spider fauna. It is unclear, however, how zonation these caves affects assemblage composition structure. Surveys 35 Levantine were conducted to compare the spiders between different zones. The differed entrance, twilight, dark zones, with troglophiles accidental species occupying cave endemic troglobites hybrid existing twilight progression divergence throughout suggestive processes specialisation, speciation, adaptation cave-endemic deepest caves, while entrance are composed common can also be found epigean habitats. Moreover, zone our study similar distinct caves. Cave subset regional pool filtered by likely result adaptations leading local events.