Water availability, which enables plant growth and animal activity, regulates dryland ecosystem function. In hyper-arid ecosystems, rain cannot support vascular plant growth. Therefore, hyper-arid vegetation is restricted to the lower topography, where runoff accumulates. Typically, food resources originating from areas of dense vegetation are dispersed across the desert floor, enabling animal life in areas lacking vascular plant growth. However, certain regions, such as the hyper-arid upper topography, may be devoid of plant-derived food resources. The present study examined arthropod activity in the upper topography of a hyper-arid desert, in comparison with arthropod activity in the lower topography. Pitfall traps were utilized to compare arthropod activity along unvegetated ridges with activity in parallel, vegetated riverbeds. Surprisingly, the study revealed dense arthropod communities in the barren upper topography. Arthropods collected in the upper topography represented 26% of total arthropod abundance. In addition, the overlap between arthropod identity in the ridges and wadis (i.e., riverbeds) was low, and certain arthropods were strongly affiliated with the ridges. The upper topographic communities included high numbers of silverfish (Zygentoma: Lepismatidae), malachite beetles (Psiloderes), and predatory mites (Acari: Anystidae), and these arthropods were present at various life stages. It remains unclear how arthropod communities can persist in the unvegetated upper topography of the hyper-arid study area. These results raise the possibility that other food sources, independent from vascular plants, may play a significant role in the life history of hyper-arid arthropods.

水可供植物生长和动物活动，调节旱地生态系统功能。在极度干旱的生态系统中，雨水无法支持维管植物的生长。因此，超干旱植被仅限于径流积聚的较低地形。通常，来自茂密植被地区的食物资源分散在沙漠地面，使动物生活在缺乏维管植物生长的地区。然而，某些地区，例如超干旱的上部地形，可能缺乏植物性食物资源。本研究检查了超干旱沙漠上部地形中的节肢动物活动，并与下部地形中的节肢动物活动进行了比较。陷阱陷阱被用来比较沿没有植被的山脊的节肢动物活动与平行、有植被的河床的活动。出奇，该研究揭示了贫瘠的上部地形中密集的节肢动物群落。在上部地形收集的节肢动物占总节肢动物丰度的 26%。此外，山脊和河谷（即河床）中的节肢动物身份之间的重叠很低，并且某些节肢动物与山脊有很强的关联。上部地形群落包括大量蠹虫（Zygentoma：Lepismatidae）、孔雀石甲虫（Psiloderes）和捕食性螨（Acari：Anystidae），这些节肢动物存在于不同的生命阶段。目前尚不清楚节肢动物群落如何在超干旱研究区的无植被上部地形中持续存在。这些结果提出了一种可能性，即独立于维管植物的其他食物来源可能在超干旱节肢动物的生活史中发挥重要作用。