2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

AUTHORS: Zach Pfeiffer, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Becky Hansis-O'Neill, University of Missouri-St. Louis; Dr. Aimee Dunlap, University of Missouri-St. Louis

ABSTRACT: Missouri glades are home to a variety of herpetofauna and one species of tarantula: Aphonopelma hentzi (Texas brown tarantula). These animals traverse through their environment very differently. Herpetofauna tend to travel in search of food, while tarantulas are usually restricted to foraging in areas very close to their burrows. Due to this contrast, and because of potential predator-prey relationships, I wanted to see if there was a pattern in the distances between these two groupings. To do this I conducted a location survey to determine how far each individual was from the nearest spider. After analyzing the data, it was discovered that the further someone was from a tarantula, the more likely they were to find herpetofauna. This indicates that there is a potential avoidance between herpetofauna and tarantulas.