Murici Ecological Station an average of . The dominant vegetation is dense rainforest in the Atlantic Forest biome. In the best preserved areas, mostly at the higher elevations, the forest forms a fairly uniform closed canopy up to high that provides shade and retains moisture. Tree species include murici ("Byrsonima sericea"), "Schefflera morototoni", "Parkia pendula", "Tabebuia" species, "Pseudobombax" species, "Bowdichia virgilioides", "Tapirira guianensis", "Handroanthus impetiginosus" and "Protium" species. The understory contains seedlings of trees, palms such as "Euterpe catinga", and many lianas and epiphytes, such as "Araceae", "Orchidaceae" ("dimerandra" species, "Dichaea" species, "Rodriguezia" species, "Cattleya labiata", "Pleurothallis" species, "Epidendrum" species, "Oncidium" species and
Portia labiata in all cases. A test in 1997 showed that "P. labiata" from the Philippines and from Sri Lanka have similar preferences for different types of prey, and that the order of preference is: web spiders; jumping spiders; and insects. These preferences apply to both live prey and motionless lures, and to "P. labiata" specimens without prey for 7 days ("well-fed") and without prey for 14 days ("starved"). "P. labiata" specimens without prey for 21 days ("extra-starved") showed no preference for different types of prey. The test included as prey several species of web spiders and jumping spiders, and the selection