International Journal of Zoology and Research (IJZR) ISSN 22788816 Vol.3, Issue 1, Mar 2013, 7-16 TJPRC Pvt.

. Ltd.

DIVERSITY AND GUILD STRUCTURE OF SPIDER FAUNA AT SAWANGA-VITHOBA LAKE (MALKHED PROJECT) AREA IN POHARA FOREST DIST AMRAVATI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA
VARSHA W WANKHADE & NARENDRA MANWAR Department of Zoology, University of Pune, Pune, Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACT
The order Aranae deserves a special place in the study of ecology as it acts as a biological indicator. The objectives of the present study were to explore the diversity and characteristics of spider families. The study was conducted at Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) district Amravati, Maharashtra India. In this study, by observing the diversity of Spiders (Class Insecta, phylum Arthopoda), efforts were made to evaluate the status of ecosystem of Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project) district Amravati, Maharashtra. In total 42 species of spiders belonging to 14 families were observed. Araneidae was the most represented family with 15 species. Area surrounding Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) Dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India represents 23.72 % of the total families recorded in India. The high species diversity of spiders in Sawanga-Vithoba lake region can be attributed to the high diversity of plants and insects. In totality, five different guilds of spiders were observed. 54% of spiders were orb web builders, 24% were foliage runner. Ground runner and Ambusers were 8%, while scattered line weaver were 6%. Sawanga-Vithoba lake region could be an important centre of speciation in Pohara forest of tahsil chandur railway dist Amravati. This is the first report of the spider fauna from Sawanga-Vithoba lake region.

KEYWORDS: Aranae, Sawanga-Vithoba Lake, spider diversity, Malkhed Project, Araneidae INTRODUCTION
India is rich in both flora and fauna and is a mega diverse country. Knowledge about the diversity, distribution and abundance of spider in India is very sparse. Spiders are one of the most diverse groups of organisms. Study of spiders as always remained neglected .They have, however, largely been ignored. Spiders serve as bio-control agents (CIKS 2002). Spiders regulate the terrestrial arthropod population as they are important predators (Reichert and Bishop, 1990; Coddington and Levi,. 1991) Spiders are copious in number and are ecologically important in almost every terrestrial and semi-terrestrial (wetland) habitat on Earth, from cold tundra and alpine ecosystems to tropical rainforests and deserts. There are about 37000 identifies and described spider species which correspond to only a small number of their total diversity (Adis and Harvey, 2000). Numbers often go beyond 100 per square meter, which is equal to 1 million spiders per hectare (Coleman and Crossley, 1996). Some species are found on the shores of the ocean and some dive into ponds and streams in search of prey-members of one Eurasian spider family (Argyronetidae) even live underwater in silken "diving bells" which they fill with air brought from the surface clinging to their hairy abdomens. Spiders are found high up on Mount Everest, and some of the most northerly animals are spiders, as well. Spiders are among the most important predators in many ecosystems. Spiders are an important food source for birds, lizards, wasps and other animals. Ground-dwelling spiders may be important in transferring energy directly from the below-ground detritus food wells to the above-ground terrestrial food webs of familiar birds, reptiles, amphibians, and

Varsha W Wankhade & Narendra Manwar

mammals (Johnston, 2000). Spiders are an important source of food for many birds, especially in the winter (Peterson et al. 1989; Hogstad, 1984, in Skerl 1997). Spider silk is important to bird species for nest building; 24 of 42 families of passerine birds and nearly all species of hummingbird depends on silk from spiders and caterpillars for nest construction (Hansel 1993, Skerl 1997). Spiders are omnipresent in terrestrial ecosystems, and few species occur in freshwater and marine environments (Foelix 1996). To identify spiders on the basis of morphological characteristics are often tricky. Problems in arachnids identification is also due to molting in many species which continue to and grow as adults, leading to gross size differences. For example, some Nephilia males are twice the length of others (Cohn 1990). Species-level identifications are only promising with adults by analyses of genital morphology. Due to the scarcity of workers, much of the Arthropoda diversity in most of the parts of Maharashtra remains unexplored. This may lead to the undocumented disappearance of many species. If any species go extinct, it will affect the ecological balance, food chain, food web and further utilization of the species. Considering the importance of spiders in the natural suppression of many insect pests and as bioindicators, urgent efforts are needed to understand their diversity. The present knowledge of the spiders of Western Ghats remains confined to the works of Pocock (1895, 1899, 1900), Hirst (1909), Gravely (1915, 1935), Jose and Sebastian (2001), Smith (2004), and Jose et al. (2006) tried to document the diversity of spider fauna in and around Western Ghats but there is no work on spider at Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) area dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India The aim of this study was to investigate the diversity of spiders and its guild structure at Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project) ecosystem. This study is the first record of the spider fauna from this area. Though the study of spiders from Sawanga-Vithoba Lake is still far from complete, the present study forms a basis for further investigations on this group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study Area Study area of present work is in district Amravati. Amravati district is located in Maharashtra state of India between 200321 and 210461 north latitudes and 760371 and 780371 and 760271 east longitudes (Khan, 2009) as shown in fig.1. Sawanga-Vithoba lake also called as Malkhed Talav is located in Chandur Railway Tahsil of Amravati district. It is surrounded by hilly area and dry deciduous forest (fig.2). This forest is rich in plant species such as Teak (Tectona grandis), Khair (Acacia catechu), Palas (Butia monosperma), Salai, Neem (Azadirachta indica), Subabool (Leucaena leucocephala), Calotropis procera, Zyzipus, Ficus plants etc. The catchment area of lake is 90 km2. The study was conducted at Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project) region during January 2011 to December 2011. Table 1: Morphological and geographical characteristics of Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Kasambe and Wadatkar, 2007) Study Site Geographical Habitat type Location Sawanga-Vithoba The vegetation consist of both natural forest i.e. evergreen semievergreen, dry-deciduous, grassland and teak (Tectona grandis), Lake (Malkhed 2057N and Khair (Acacia catechu), Palas (Butia monosperma), and Salai Project), dist7757E Amravati, plantation Maharashtra Area about 90 km2

Diversity and Guild Structure of Spider Fauna at Sawanga-Vithoba Sawanga Lake (Malkhed Project) Area in Pohara Forest Dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India

Study Period The present study was conducted from Jan. 2011 to Dec. 2011 at different study sites at Sawanga Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project), dist-Amravati, Amravati, Maharashtra (Table-1). (Table

INDIA

MAHARASHTRA

AMRAVATI

Figure 1: Location of District Amravati in India (Khan, 2009)

Figure 2: Satellite photograph of Sawanga- Vithoba lake, District Amravati Sampling Methods Surveys were conducted in all season at different sites. Five 20x20 m quadrants were taken for extensive surveys. All surveys were conducted in the morning hours between 7:00am to 11:00 a.m. Spiders were collected by adopting standard sampling techniques as described below.

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Varsha W Wankhade & Narendra Manwar

1.

Sweep netting: Spiders from herbaceous-shrub-small tree vegetation was collected using Standardized insect collecting net. 20 standard sweeps were employed per quadrant.

2.

Beating sheets: Spiders from trees and woody shrubs were dislodged and collected on a sheet by beating trees and shrubs with a standard stick. 10 beats per tree or shrub were employed in each quadrat.

3.

Active searching and hand picking: Spiders from the trees, shrubs and ground were collected by this method. In this method spider specimen were actively searched for 30 minutes per quadrant for searching under rocks, logs, ground debris, and loose dead barks of trees etc.

Photography Collected spiders were photographed and identified by the digital camera (Make Sony Model no W-310) and later were released into their natural habitat. Identification All specimens were initially separated from other material and identified to the family level using the taxonomic keys for Indian spiders given by Tikader (1987) and Gajbe (2004). Few spiders were observed under stereo zoom microscopes (model no. MS 24). Environmental Variables Structural attributes of vegetation were measured using 1m2 quadrant at each trap. Vegetation was classified into ground layer (< 10cm), lower field (>50cm) and upper field layer (>50-200cm). Guild Classication Spider families used in the determination of guilds were those listed in the review of Young and Edwards (1990). Designation of spiders was based on the ecological characteristics known for the family or a key species representing each family (Gertsch and Riechert, 1976; Post and Riechert. 1977; Gertsch 1979; Young and Edwards ( 1990; Nyffeler and Benz. 1987; Nyffeler et al 1992).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Total 42 species under 20 genera and 14 families (Table 2) were recorded during the 6 month survey at SawangaVithoba Lake region. This area is rich in floral diversity. In our observation Araneidae is the most represented family with 15 species. Various families of spider as Araneidae, Lycosidae, Oxypidae, Tetragnathidae, Eracidae, Thomicidae, Theridiosomatidae, Clubionidae, Thirididae, Philodromidae, Pholcidae, Miturgidae, Salticidae and Gnaphosidae were recorded. Fifteen species with seven genera belonging to family Araneidae, 5 species belonging to family Oxypidae, 4 species belonging to family Tetragnathidae and Eracidae , 2 species each of family Thomicidae, Pholcidae, Salticidae and Gnaphosidae , and one species belonging to each family Theridiosomatidae, Clubionidae , Thirididae, Philodromidae, Miturgidae and family Lycosidae were recorded. Thus family Araneidae is the most dominant family exploring 37% of species, second dominant family is Oxypidae with 12% species, families Tetragnathidae and Eracidae exhibit 10% species , family Thomicidae, Pholcidae, Salticidae and Gnaphosidae reveal 5% of total species while other families display 2% of the total species diversity. Distribution of different families of spiders at Sawang - Vithoba lake is illustrated in fig 3.

Diversity and Guild Structure of Spider Fauna at Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project) Area in Pohara Forest Dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India

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Figure 3: Percentile Distribution of Families of Spiders at Sawanga-Vithoba Lake Guild Preference Exhibited by Spiders at Sawanga Vithoba Lake Region Spiders at Sawanga Vithoba Lake exhibited a good diversity in guild preference. It was observed that in totality, five different guilds of spiders were observed. 54% of spiders are orb web builders, 24% are foliage runner. Ground runner and Ambushers are 8%.while scattered line weaver are 6%. Diversity exhibited by spiders of Sawanga Vithoba lake region district Amravati Maharashtra for Guilds preference is shown in fig. 4.

Figure 4: Diversity in Guilds of Spider Fauna at Sawanga Vithoba Lake Region Dist Amravati Maharashtra Family Diversity Out of the 59 families recorded in the Indian region (Sudhikumar et al 2005), 14 families were observed at Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) area dist Amravati, Maharashtra India. This represents 23.73 % of the total families recorded in India.

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Species Richness A total of 42 species are discovered from a limited area of 16 km2. This number is very high compared to other regions like Andaman and Nicobar islands 65 species, Sikkim 55 species and Calcutta 99 species (Tikader (1987), Tikader 1977 and, Tikader and Biswas, 1981. The above three studies were conducted over a period of one to two years while the present study was conducted for six months. Affinities The present studies conducted at Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India revealed that the spider fauna of this ecosystem bears affinities with the fauna of Melghat Sanctuary, Amravati and Spider Fauna of Lonar Creature, Buldhana. Of about 1442 species reported from India (Siliwal et al. 2005), Recently, Vairale and Vankhede, 2010 reported 517 spider species from Melghat Sanctuary. In total 42 species of spiders from Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India was recorded. Thus high species diversity of spiders in this area can be attributed to the high diversity of plants and insects. High plant diversity (Tectona grandis, Acacia catechu, Butia

monosperma etc) sustains a high faunal diversity by providing diverse microhabitat especially for invertebrates. There is no
previous work in this area regarding the diversity of spiders. This indicates the need for further study in this area. The complex interaction of various climatic factors like rainfall, temperature availability of water source nearby may create many smaller but diverse environmental niches in this area. The presence of diverse habitats like forests, bushes and sand and water can make Sawanga (Vithoba) lake area an important centre of speciation. Many environmental factors affect diversity of species (Rosenzweig, 1995). There is always correlation between structural complexities of habitats and diversity of species (Hawksworth and Kalin-Arroyo 1995).Greater variety of habitat types increases diversity ( Ried and Miller 1989). Structurally complex shrubs hold good spider diversity (Uetz 1991). Spiders are sensitive to minute alteration in the structure of habitat such as habitat complexity, litter depth and microclimate characteristics (Downie et al. 1999 and New 1999). Spiders generally have humidity and temperature preferences that limit them to areas within the range of their physiological tolerances which make them ideal candidates for land conservation studies (Riechert and Gillespie,. 1986). Reporting and documenting diversity of spider in the present selected ecosystem can give important information to justify the conservation of this ecosystem. Study of species richness is a good tool to assess habitat quality the uniqueness of species compositions is important in establishing regional conservation priorities (Platnick 1991). This Sawanga lake habitat has a diverse spider community and further research should be encouraged in this ecosystem. However, to maintain and manage this high diversity biome other factors also needed to be identified. Factors at the microhabitat scale, which may be important in influencing the diversity, have to be investigated. Thus the existing data suggest that sawanga vithoba Lake could be rich centers in Vidarbha region of India.

CONCLUSIONS
Sawanga-Vithoba lake (Malkhed Project) dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India is rich in spider diversity with 42 species belonging to 14 families. Family Araneidae is the most represented family. Spider fauna also exhibits good diversity in guild structure with most represented guild as a web builder. Sawanga-Vithoba lake region could be an important centre of speciation in Pohara forest of dist Amravati, India.

Diversity and Guild Structure of Spider Fauna at Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project) Area in Pohara Forest Dist Amravati, Maharashtra, India

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Table 2: Check List of Spiders at Sawanga-Vithoba Lake (Malkhed Project), Dist-Amravati, Maharashtra Sr.No. Famiy Percent abundance Species

Gasteracabtha sipnaensis nov. Vairalle Female Neoscona sp. Female Neoscona sp. Female Neoscona sp. Female
37

Larinia sp. Female Larinia sp. Female Larinia sp. Female

Araneidae

Zygeilla sp. Female Zygeilla sp. Female Zygeilla indica Male Neoscona sp. female Neoscona sp. female Neoscona sinhagadensis female Cyclosa simony Female Araneus sp. Female

Lycosidae

Arctosa littoralis Female Oxyopes sp. Female Himataliwa sp. Female

Oxypidae

12

Oxyopes pawani Female Oxyopes sp. Female Oxyopes sp. Female Leucauge decorata Female Laucauge sp. Female

Tetragnathidae

10

Leucage sp. Male Tetragnatha mandibulata Stegodyphus sp. Female Stegodyphus sp. Female

Eracidae

10

Stegodyphus sp. Male Stegodyphus sp. Female Thomisus sp. Female

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Thomicidae Theridiosomatidae Clubionidae Thirididae Philodromidae Pholcidae Miturgidae Salticidae Gnaphosidae

2 2 2 2 2 5 2 5 5

Thomisus sp. Female Theridiosoma sp. Female Clubiona sp. Female Theredion sp. Female Philodromus sp. Female Pholcus sp. Female Pholcus sp. Female Cheracanthium danieli Female Phidippus sp. Female Phidippus sp. Female hippasa sp. Female Hippasa holmerae Female

14

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our special thanks to Director of ISRO-UoP for providing us financial assistance. The authors are also thankful to The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Government of Maharashtra for giving permission to conduct present study.

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