Habitat loss is one of the greatest drivers for extinction worldwide. Understanding a taxon’s habitat requirements is crucial in being able to protect it from decline. The Australasian trapdoor spider genus Cantuaria (Idiopidae) is widespread and diverse within the islands of New Zealand, but little is known of its ecology. We studied the habitat requirements of Cantuaria, using niche modelling, to inform conservation efforts and predict how the genus may fare under future climate conditions. Two data sets were employed. A fine-scale data set used hand-collected data from the vicinity of individual burrows for localised soil, vegetation, and human disturbance data directly inside and adjacent to Cantuaria populations. A spatial GIS data set at the landscape level mapped presence/absence of populations, as well as general environmental and soil conditions, and vegetation type. The two data sets were analysed separately, using linear models for the fine-scale data set (17 presences, 17 absences). General linear models were used to analyse the spatial data set (72 presences, 17 absences), with variables selected using a random forest analysis in R. In the fine-scale data set, no significant variables were found. In the spatial data set, rainfall explained most (71.4%) of the variation, according to the random forest analysis, followed by soil group (33.71%) and elevation (27.12%). Some variation was explained by more than one factor. The two models with the lowest AICC numbers included rainfall (P < 0.01) and elevation (P = 0.06), or rainfall only (P < 0.01), as variables. We conclude that low rainfall is desirable for populations of most Cantuaria spp., although some have been found where rainfall is up to 3000 mm/year. Climate change may cause challenges for Cantuaria conservation, particularly in areas with increased rainfall, such as Southland, Tasman, the West Coast, and Central Otago. Elevation and soil type may also be important factors in Cantuaria habitat selection, but further research with gene flow analysis, captive studies, more structured sampling, and/or a greater sample size may reveal more about the effects of elevation and soil type on Cantuaria populations.

中文翻译：

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生态位模型将低降雨量而非土壤类型确定为澳大拉西亚活门蜘蛛属 Cantuaria 的重要栖息地要求（Hogg，1902 年）

栖息地丧失是全球灭绝的最大驱动因素之一。了解一个分​​类群的栖息地要求对于保护它免于衰退至关重要。澳大拉西亚活板门蜘蛛属Cantuaria (Idiopidae) 在新西兰岛屿内分布广泛且种类繁多，但对其生态知之甚少。我们使用生态位模型研究了Cantuaria的栖息地要求，为保护工作提供信息并预测该属在未来气候条件下的表现。使用了两个数据集。精细数据集使用从单个洞穴附近手工收集的数据，用于直接在Cantuaria内部和附近的局部土壤、植被和人类干扰数据人口。景观级别的空间 GIS 数据集绘制了人口的存在/缺失，以及一般环境和土壤条件以及植被类型。分别对两个数据集进行分析，对精细数据集使用线性模型（17 个存在，17 个不存在）。使用通用线性模型来分析空间数据集（72 个存在，17 个不存在），使用 R 中的随机森林分析选择变量。在精细尺度数据集中，未发现显着变量。在空间数据集中，根据随机森林分析，降雨解释了大部分（71.4%）的变化，其次是土壤组（33.71%）和海拔（27.12%）。一些变化是由不止一个因素解释的。AICC 值最低的两个模型包括降雨量（P < 0.01) 和海拔 ( P  = 0.06) 或仅降雨量 ( P  < 0.01) 作为变量。我们得出的结论是，大多数Cantuaria spp. 的种群需要低降雨量，尽管已经发现一些降雨量高达 3000 毫米/年。气候变化可能会给坎图里亚岛的保护带来挑战，特别是在降雨量增加的地区，如南地、塔斯曼、西海岸和中奥塔哥。海拔和土壤类型也可能是Cantuaria栖息地选择的重要因素，但进一步研究基因流分析、圈养研究、更结构化的采样和/或更大的样本量可能会更多地揭示海拔和土壤类型对Cantuaria 的影响 人口。