Resilience of riparian spiders to floods: evidence from a mesocosm study

This dataset is based on a mesocosm experiment investigating the impact of flood duration on riparian spider communities. We used the Riparian Stream Mesocosm (RSM) in Landau University, Germany, to simulate four floods between May a September 2023 of various duration. This facility comprised 16 independent mesocosms, each designed to replicate a riparian ecosystem, including both an artificial stream and its adjacent riparian area. Each artificial stream was continuously fed with water pumped from the nearby river Queich. Each mesocosm was enclosed within a 3.5 m-high greenhouse-like structure covered by 1 mm mesh gauze. Spiders were sampled before and after each flood with pitfall traps and identified to species (when adult). Flume: Mesocosm unit, [1-16], each one was attributed with a treatment for the complete duration of the experiment Treatment: 0, 3, 7, 14 - flood duration in days, 0 for control that were never flooded Trap: Pitfall or window trap Area: Mesocosm were "divided" in two area. a flooded area (FLD) that was submerged during flooding (downstream part of the mesocosm) and the refuge area (REF) that was never flooded in the upstream part. Dist_stream: To minimize edge effect and account for potential influence of stream proximinity, pitfall were placed at varying distances from the stream with one trap in each intervals for each area (4 traps per area). Intervals : A - [0-70cm] / B - [70cm-140cm] / C - [140c-210cm] / D - [210cm-280cm] Position: Traps were randomly distributed along the upstream-downstream gradient. Position is composed of a letter (A, B, C, D), accounting for the distance to the stream and a number [1-8] for position within the mesocosm, 1 being the most downstream trap and 8 the most upstream. Timing: Time of the sampling, BF stand for Before Flood, AF for After Flood Cycle: Flood 1 occured mid May, Flood 2 mid June, Flood 3 end of July early August, Flood 4 mid september sp_full: complete genus and species name of each individual identify Taxa: Most precise taxonomical level available for each spider collected e.g., genus+species for adult, only family or genus for the juveniles Sex: m = male / f=female / j=juvenile