Professional Documents
Culture Documents
&
International Society of Arachnology
Book of Abstracts
Siedlce 2010
Congress Scientific Committee
Dr. Leon Baert, Brussels, Belgium; Dr. Jonathan Coddington, Washington DC,
USA; Prof. Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman, Pretoria, South Africa; Dr. Charles
Griswold, San Francisco, USA; Dr. Jason Dunlop – ISA Secretary, Berlin,
Germany; Dr. Mark Harvey, Welshpool, Australia; Prof. Daiqin Li, Singapore;
Dr. Kirill G. Mikhailov, Moscow, Russia; Dr. Norman Platnick, New York,
USA; Prof. Jerzy Prószyński, Warsaw, Poland; Dr. Ferenc Samu, Budapest,
Hungary; Dr. Nikolaj Scharff – ISA President, Copenhagen, Denmark; Dr. Cor
Vink, Lincoln, New Zealand; Dr. Richardo Pinto-da-Rocha, São Paulo, Brazil
ISBN: 978-83-7051-575-1
The publication co-financed by the Polish Ministry for Science and Higher
Education (grant for the University of Podlasie), the International Society of
Arachnology and the City of Siedlce
Akademia Podlaska
ul. Konarskiego 2, 08-110 Siedlce
Format B-5
Druk: ELPIL, Siedlce
In Memoriam
Wstęp
Pajęczaki to fascynujące zwierzęta. Pierwsze kopalne ślady ich istnienia
pochodzą sprzed blisko 400 milionów lat. Dziś znamy kilkadziesiąt tysięcy
gatunków (oprócz roztoczy), zasiedlających różne strefy klimatyczne i ekosystemy:
od skrajnie nieprzyjaznych pustyń, wysokich gór i podbiegunowej tundry, po
tropikalne lasy, sawanny i stepy. Wiele gatunków bytuje w miejscach wilgotnych i
okresowo zalewanych a nieliczne żyją w wodzie na stałe.
Rysunki i ryty naskalne dowodzą, że niektóre pajęczaki, zwłaszcza pająki i
skorpiony, budzą naszą fascynację i strach od tysięcy lat. Także współcześnie
zwierzęta te obecne są w mitach i wierzeniach, a jako bohaterowie filmów
fabularnych, komiksów i stron internetowych, zyskują wręcz rangę zwierzęcych
celebrytów.
Miarą ewolucyjnego sukcesu pajęczaków jest nie tylko ich długa historia,
różnorodność zajmowanych środowisk i liczba gatunków, ale także mnogość
strategii życiowych, zachowań związanych z rozrodem, polowaniem, życiem
społecznym i dyspersją. Pajęczaki są ważnym elementem sieci troficznych: jako
drapieżcy regulują liczebność swych ofiar, ale i same mają wielu wrogów.
Wszystkie te zagadnienia są przedmiotem zainteresowania współczesnej
arachnologii. Wśród jej najważniejszych nurtów kilka rozwija się szczególnie
dynamicznie. Domeną systematyki i biogeografii jest m. in. badanie pokrewieństw
między taksonami i rekonstruowanie historii faun kontynentalnych (regionalnych).
Prace z zakresu ekologii i bioróżnorodności dotyczą funkcjonowania zgrupowań
pajęczaków w różnych ekosystemach i ich roli w ocenie stanu środowiska. Badania
etologiczne i neurobiologiczne pozwalają zrozumieć uniwersalne mechanizmy
zachowań rozrodczych, łowieckich i społecznych a także poznać wyrafinowane
sposoby komunikowania się. Efektem badań nad wykorzystaniem jadu jest
wyodrębnienie substancji biologicznie czynnych o znaczeniu medycznym, zaś prace
nad własnościami przędzy i procesem jej produkcji zmierzają do uzyskania
supermateriałów o niezwykłych własnościach mechanicznych.
Nieodłączną cechą współczesnej arachnologii jest upowszechnienie się metod
biologii molekularnej i technik mikroskopii elektronowej. Zastosowanie
modelowania komputerowego pozwala na prognozowanie procesów ekologicznych
i zjawisk ewolucyjnych, statystyczne analizy wyników osiągają nieznany dotąd
stopień zaawansowania zaś elektroniczne katalogi, bazy danych i publikacje
ogromnie ułatwiają obieg informacji naukowej.
Prezentowany tu zbiór abstraktów daje jedynie wyobrażenie o różnorodności
tematyki poruszanej w trakcie Kongresu. Pełne teksty prac ukażą się w Journal of
Arachnology i innych prestiżowych wydawnictwach, do których odsyłamy
czytelników.
47
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
48
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Preface
Arachnids are fascinating creatures, inhabiting the Earth for the last 400
million years. Today (excluding Acari) some 60,000 species are known to exist
in a variety of climatic zones and ecosystems: from hostile deserts, high
mountains and tundra, through tropical forests, savannahs and steppes. Many
species can survive periodically submerged and a few are permanent water
dwellers.
For thousands of years arachnids, especially spiders and scorpions, have
generated lively interest, fascination and fear - well evidenced by the rock
engravings, cave paintings and today’s myths and beliefs. At present, sensational
reports, movies, comics and web pages have raised arachnids to the role of
animal celebrities and pop-culture heroes.
The most deadly spiders such as black widow, recluse spider, Sydney
funnel web spider or many scorpion species attract the attention of general
public, stimulating (or limiting) nature tourism and becoming research subject
for biotechnology and medicine. Chemical and mechanical properties of spider
webs and silk are extensively studied in order to produce silk-like super
materials.
The long history of arachnids, their great species diversity, various habitat
preferences, living strategies, behaviours and dispersal abilities are the best
evidence of their evolutionary success. As top predators and other animals’ prey
they are extremely important in the ecological webs.
Arachnology today is a multidisciplinary science, with a wide range of
research areas such as palaeontology, systematics, biogeography, ecology,
biodiversity and conservation, physiology, genetics, neurobiology, behaviour,
reproduction or social life. In most cases the methods of molecular biology,
electron microscopy and sophisticated statistics have become a necessity in the
profound analyses.
All those aspects are presented and discussed during the Congress and are
covered in the Book of Abstracts. Full texts of the papers will be presented in the
Proceedings published by the Journal of Arachnology and other prestigious
periodicals.
The Congress has been a joined venture of many people, institutions and
the entire arachnological community.
The members of the Honorary Committee supported us mentally and were
“good spirits” of the Congress.
We wish to thank the members of the Scientific Committee and the
Plenary Speakers for accepting our invitation.
The Rector and Chancellor, Deans of the Faculties of Science and Natural
Sciences, Colleagues and Friends from the Institute of Biology, Director of the
Library, administration and students of the University of Podlasie - all are
acknowledged for their commitment and help.
The International Society of Arachnology, the Congress co-organiser, has
provided the financial support, and the ISA President - Dr. Nikolaj Scharff and
Secretary - Dr. Jason Dunlop have been especially co-operative.
49
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The 18th International Congress takes place on the 50th anniversary of the
first meeting in Bonn (1960). Therefore, it gives us an excellent opportunity to
pay our respect to all those, whose efforts and hard work have contributed to the
development of arachnology over the last decades. Our special gratitude goes to
the former ISA officials, including Professor Otto Kraus - the first President and
one of the “founding fathers” of our organization.
50
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
51
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
52
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
53
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
54
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
55
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
56
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
57
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
58
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
59
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
compared with males from the well fed group (13.2±8.2 min) and the control
group (11.3±6.6 min). Poorly fed males that wrapped they prey in silk had
difficulties in prey manipulation and silk deposition, whereas poorly fed males
that not wrapped the prey, remained eating it.
Our findings show that the female silk is as strong a trigger as the presence
of a female on male gift construction behaviour. Response to female silk was
also found in Paratrechalea ornata, another gift giving spider species, and
supports the idea that early gift construction may be an adaptive strategy which
allows males immediate copulation once a female is located. Our data also show
that gift construction is costly and hence provides information on male foraging
state as an indicator of male quality. Hungry males invest in nuptial gift
construction rather than consuming the prey, hence the nuptial gift giving trait is
seems to be under strong sexual selection.
60
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
61
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
62
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
63
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
64
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
65
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
66
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
With more than 250 described species, the woodlouse-hunter spider genus
Dysdera is one of the most species-rich genus in the western Paleartic. Several
factors may account for such a high level of species diversity. Dysdera species
are specialised predators of terrestrial isopods. The large variation observed in
chelicerae size and shape of Dysdera species, unparalleled among spiders,
reflects unique predatory tactics. Phylogenetic analyses conducted on Canarian
Dysdera endemics have demonstrated that coexisting species with divergent
cheliceral morphology are frequently closest relatives. Therefore, prey
segregation might have promoted diversification by preventing competition
among sympatric species. Dysdera also exhibits an unusual interspecific
diversity in diploid chromosome number, which ranges from 9 to 40, and hence
chromosome rearrangements may have driven speciation in Dysdera. In
addition, the restricted distributions of most Dysdera species suggest low
dispersal capabilities, which opens the door to the involvement of geological and
climatic factors in Dysdera diversification.
The Dysdera erythrina species complex provides an ideal model to
investigate the role of different biological and environmental factors in the
unusual diversification of the genus. This complex includes closely related
species that differ not only in genitalia but also in cheliceral morphology.
Dysdera erythrina has a large distribution range that spans from NE Iberian
peninsula to central Europe. Some of the species in the complex, however, have
much narrower distributions, circumscribed to well-known Mediterranean areas
of endemism. Finally, there is evidence that at least some of the species included
in the complex have different chromosome numbers.
We investigate the evolution and historical association between
chromosome numbers, phenotypic differentiation and geological factors by
inferring a thoroughly sampled phylogeny and conducting a multilocus
phylogeographic analysis of the species complex. Our results reveal an
unexpected diversity of distinct genetic lineages, with overlapping distribution.
Distinct chromosome numbers characterize some of the genetic lineages, while
67
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
cheliceral differentiation evolved mostly at the base of the tree. Relaxed clock
dating reveals that genetic lineages originated mostly during the onset of the
glacial cycles. All together, our data suggest that both climatic and chromosome
changes may have contributed to the establishment of reproductive barriers
between previously interbreeding populations, while differentiation in size
evolved subsequently, probably driven by interspecific competition.
68
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Leticia Avilés
69
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Logunov D.V. 1996. Salticidae of Middle Asia. 3. A new genus, Proszynskiana
gen. n., in the subfamily Aelurillinae (Araneae, Salticidae). Bulletin of the
British Arachnological Society, 10: 171-177.
Logunov D.V. & Hęciak S. 1996. Asianellus, a new genus of the subfamily
Aelurillinae (Araneae: Salticidae). Entomologica Scandinavica, 26: 103-117.
Platnick N. 2010. The world spider catalog, version 10.5. AMNH, at www:
history. http://research.amnh.org/entomology/ spiders/catalog.
Prószyński J. 2007. Salticidae (Araneae) of the world.
http://salticidae.org/salticid/main.htm.
70
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The kleptoparasitic spiders Argyrodes exhibit remarkable inter-specific
variations in foraging behaviour and morphology. Because Argyrodes
exclusively depends on host webs in its food acquisition and physical habitat,
host web traits seem to play important roles for trait diversification of
Argyrodes. However, this possibility has never been explored. A species of
the kleptoparasitic spider A. kumadai that mainly distributes in Japan utilizes
phylogenetically unrelated host spiders that predominates in their respective
regions; Cyrtophora moluccensis (Araneidae) is restricted to the South-west
Islands of Japan and Agelena silvatica (Agelenidae) is found on Japanese
mainland (Baba & Miyashita 2005). Due to the differences in web structure
and foraging behaviour of host spiders, opportunities for A. kumadai to
acquire prey is significantly limited in Agelena web (Baba et al. 2007), i.e.,
A. kumadai could not steal prey once captured by host spiders on Agelena
web. This may impose strong natural selection on walking performance of A.
kumadai to access prey quickly before host notice it. To test this possibility,
we focused on the relative leg-length (corrected for the effects of body size)
as a target of natural selection that seems to be associated with foraging
including movement across the web. Because Agelena constructs more
complex web with a higher thread density than Cyrtophora, the relatively
short leg-length seems to have an advantage in walking in narrow space on
Agelena web.
71
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Baba Y.G.. & Miyashita T. 2005. Geographical host change in the
kleptoparasitic spider Argyrodes kumadai associated with distribution
of two host species. Acta Arachnologica, 54: 75-76.
Baba Y.G., Walters R.J. & Miyashita T. 2007. Host-dependent differences in
prey acquisition between populations of a kleptoparasitic spider
Argyrodes kumadai (Araneae: Theridiidae). Ecological Entomology,
32: 38-44.
72
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
73
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
74
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
75
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
life have relatively narrow food niche and prey mainly upon insects rarely found
in the diet of older individuals. Spiders older by one and two years have much
more diverse diet, but in the oldest specimens the index of prey diversity is the
highest. Individuals from all age groups maintain a fairly constant prey size to
predator size ratio.
For a cursorial predator, actively hunting its prey, there are several
questions it has to answer when it perceives any new object. It has to be decided
whether the observed object is a potential prey, a sexual partner, an enemy or
neither of those. If the object is identified as a prey, however, the question of
“how it should be approached?” arises. Numerous predators (including jumping
spiders) possess hunting tactics that are tailored to a prey. Their tactics are
characterized by e.g.: prey-specific direction and speed of approach, distance of
attack and other prey-specific behaviours. Some hunting patterns are inadequate
for certain prey and may significantly decrease the chances of success. Therefore
precise prey identification is crucial for the hunting success. The predator also
has to choose the area on its prey’s body which it will strike. The choice of
suitable point of strike allows firm prey grasping and precise venom injection,
which may considerably increase chances of subduing dangerous, large or motile
prey. It may also decrease the risk of injury caused by the prey and considerably
shorten the time, when the prey struggles to release. For these and other reasons
most animal predators (not only spiders) overpowering their prey try to grasp
their victims by the head or thorax, where ganglia responsible for movement
coordination are present. Predators possessing venom typically inject it in this
area, which allows immobilizing the prey relatively quickly. In current research I
analyze the characteristics used by jumping spiders in identification of their
prey’s head. Experiments with natural and computer-generated models are
compared.
76
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
77
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Bayer S. & Jäger P. 2010. Expected species richness in the genus Psechrus in
Laos (Araneae: Psechridae). Revue suisse de Zoologie, accepted, 16 pp.
Platnick N.I. 2010. The world spider catalog, version 11.0. AMNH, at www:
http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/.
78
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Pirate spiders of the family Mimetidae are well known for their
araneophagic behaviour. The family has a worldwide distribution and currently
contains 156 species grouped in 13 genera. One of the fundamental problems
concerning the higher level systematics of mimetid spiders is the placement of
the family within Araneae. The placement of the family within the order has
been studied previously using morphological data. In this talk we present the
first molecular phylogeny of Mimetidae. We also address some of the
intrafamiliar phylogenetic relationships at the genus level. Our analyses include
sequence data from five loci (18S, 28S, 16S, COI and H3). We analyzed the data
under direct optimization and investigated clade sensitivity to different
combinations of analytical parameters (indel-to-change cost and the
transversion-to-transition ratio).
79
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
80
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
which may results in large difference between the gene tree and the population
tree. In particular, phylogeographic patterns based on mitochondrial data alone
are notoriously biased in their ability to reflect the entire history of populations.
Therefore it is desirable to use multilocus approaches based on unlinked nuclear
markers, to recover a more accurate view of the evolutionary process underlying
population history. Unfortunately, spider phylogeography has been seriously
limited by the shortage of nuclear markers available for population level
analyses. The isolation and design of new nuclear markers in non-model
organism with limited genomic information is a not a trivial task. We have
circumvented this problem by isolation new anonymous markers from a
genomic library of H. globifer. We will present and discuss preliminary results
of the insights gained on the phylogeographic patterns of the Iberian Sistema
Central species by the analysis of these anonymous nuclear markers.
81
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
82
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
83
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The Churchill area, lying at the transitional zone between the northern
boreal forest and arctic tundra, represents an interesting model for studying the
patterns of faunal transition between adjacent ecoregions. Arctic ecosystems and
especially transitional zones are sensitive areas where the impacts of climate
change are expected to be manifested first. During 2006 and 2009, spiders from
different habitats located within “islands” of the forest, tundra, and grass
meadows near Churchill, Manitoba were studied. A total of 160 species from 14
families was established and identified, based on morphological characters and
DNA barcoding employing the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I
(COI) gene. Intra- and interspecific genetic divergences of all described species
as well as a potential new species in the spider genus Alopecosa (Araneae,
Lycosidae) are presented and related to the species designations. In general,
close correspondence was detected between species and genetic clusters, with
most species displaying negligible intraspecific morphological variation, but
some of them show considerable variation. We also discuss species composition
and overlap among the different biomes present in the Churchill region.
84
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Department of Life Science, Center for Tropical Ecology and Biodiversity, Tunghai
University, Taichung 407, Taiwan, sblamires@thu.edu.tw, spider@thu.edu.tw
85
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Strict Forest Reserves are forests where no forest operations are carried
out. In Hesse (Germany) 31 such reserves have been established, 22 of them
with a reference area where forest management is continued. Seven groups of
animals (Lumbricidae, Araneae, Heteroptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera
Aculeata, Macrolepidoptera, Aves) have so far been investigated in eight
reserves using a wide range of methods over two whole years (incl. winter).
Here, the ground-dwelling spiders of five Strict Forest Reserves in Hesse are
determined and analysed.
Data on spiders from pitfall traps are the topic of this talk. About 2/3 of
the spider species (>200) were trapped with the pitfalls; a slightly smaller
number than with trunk eclectors (in total > 300 species). In a single beech forest
(4 of the 5 areas are beech forests) 26% of the spider species known from Hesse
and 18% of the species known from Germany can be found. On average 110
spider species were recorded on the ground in every area.
The spider species are categorised according to their degree of affiliation
to forests: strictly in forests; mainly in forest habitats; also in forests but mostly
living in special habitats like swamps or warm slopes; eurytopic in open land
habitats. 76% of the species and 94% of the individuals belong to the first two
groups, i.e. the spiders show a high affiliation to forest habitats.
Central European beech forests are inhabited by a much larger number of
species than previously estimated. The seven investigated animal groups
comprise 1480±170 species, representing 25% of all animal species which
occur. Extrapolation yields a total of 5800 species for a beech forest with a size
of about 70 ha (reserve & reference area). This is 3-4 times more than the 1500-
2000 species hitherto assumed to occur in such an area.
86
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Lonar is World No. 3 crater, formed 50 million years ago due to meteorite
impact. Government of India has declared Lonar as Wild life Sanctuary on dt.8th
June 2000.
Area details: total = 383.22 ha, reserved forest = 266.08 ha, water body =
77.39 ha, cultivation = 39.75 ha, It is the smallest sanctuary in India but the
habitat is very typical and it is very close to human settlement.
I have reported 100 spider species from Lonar Sanctuary from 20 Families
and 36 genera (June 8, 2009).
87
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Acknowledgements
PCCF, Department of Forest, Nagpur, gave permission to carry out
research on spiders from Lonar crater.
88
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
89
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Barrientos J.A. & Cardoso P. 2007. The genus Malthonica Simon, 1898 in the
Iberian Peninsula (Araneae: Agelenidae). Zootaxa, 1460: 59-68.
Bolzern A., Crespo L.C. & Cardoso P. 2009. Two new Tegenaria species
(Araneae: Agelenidae) from Portugal. Zootaxa, 2068: 47-58.
Bolzern A., Hänggi A. & Burckhardt D. 2008. Funnel web spiders from
Sardinia: taxonomical notes on some Tegenaria and Malthonica spp.
(Araneae: Agelenidae). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 115: 759-778.
Bolzern A. Hänggi A. & Burckhardt D. (accepted) Aterigena, a new genus of
funnel-web spider, shedding some light on the Tegenaria-Malthonica
problem (Araneae, Agelenidae). Journal of Arachnology.
Bolzern A. & Hervé C. 2010. A new funnel-web spider species (Araneae:
Agelenidae, Tegenaria) from Mercantour National Park, France. Bulletin
of the British Arachnological Society, 15: 21-26.
Croucher P.J.P., Jones R.M., Searle J.B. & Oxford G.S. 2007. Contrasting
patterns of hybridization in large house spiders (Tegenaria atrica group,
Agelenidae). Evolution, 61: 1622-1640.
Deltshev C. 2008. Two new spider species, Malthonica bozhkovi sp. nov. and
Tegenaria paragamiani sp. nov. from Rhodopy Mountains (Bulgaria and
Greece) (Araneae: Agelenidae). Zootaxa, 1872: 37-44.
Gasparo F. 2007. Note su Tegenaria percuriosa Brignoli, 1972, con descrizione
del maschio (Araneae, Agelenidae). Atti e Memorie della Commissione
Grotte “E. Boegan”, 41: 95-103.
Guseinov E.F., Marusik Y.M. & Koponen S. 2005. Spiders (Arachnida: Aranei)
of Azerbaijan. 5. Faunistic review of the funnel-web spiders (Agelenidae)
with description of new genus and species. Arthropoda Selecta, 14: 153-
177.
Kovblyuk M.M. 2006. Malthonica podoprygorai sp.n. from the Crimea (Aranei:
Agelenidae). Arthropoda Selecta, 15: 23-37.
Kovblyuk M.M. & Ponomarev A.V. 2008. New and interesting spiders (Aranei:
Agelenidae, Corinnidae, Gnaphosidae, Nemesiidae, Thomisidae) from the
West Caucasus. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin, 4: 143-154.
Král J. 2007. Evolution of multiple sex chromosomes in the spider genus
Malthonica (Araneae: Agelenidae) indicates unique structure of the spider
sex chromosome systems. Chromosome Research, 15: 863-879.
Seyyar O., Demir H. & Topçu A. 2008. A futher faunistic study on two species
of the genus Malthonica Simon, 1898 (Araneae: Agelenidae) from
Turkey. Turkish Journal of Arachnology, 1: 120-127.
90
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
91
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
linear model with a binary response to test whether Gelis sp. was selecting larger
individuals within each species
We collected a total of 574 P. lapponica 257 P. sodalis and 118 P. moesta
females to analyze reproductive characteristics. We detected significant differences
among sites for many of our explanatory and response variables so we divided our
data by site and by species. The Tombstone site yielded the lowest body size
(condition) for P. lapponica and P. sodalis. Interestingly, this site also yielded the
most significant trade-off effects in these species. We also found that while Gelis sp.
were not selecting larger individuals within a species, they were selecting larger
individuals across species and specifically P. sodalis. We also found that up to 50%
of individuals in a given population can be parasitized by Gelis sp. resulting in a
reproductive fitness of zero.
Our work represents the first to quantify determinants of spider assemblages
and life history patterns of many northern spiders at a regional scale. We found that
vegetation composition and the structural characteristics it represents, best explained
patterns of northern spider assemblages. The boreal forest-tundra transition zone
should become an important focus for research on diversity and distribution of
arthropod species given the susceptibility of arthropods to climate changes
(Callaghan et al. 2001) and future climate predictions (e.g., Hansell et al. 1998,
Danks 2004). Determining patterns of terrestrial arthropod diversity and life history
patterns across the boreal-tundra is the first step to determining the effects that
climate changes will have on the Arctic fauna.
References
Bowden J.J. & Buddle C.M. Determinants of ground-dwelling spider assemblages at
a regional scale in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Écoscience, in review.
Bowden J.J. & Buddle C.M. Spider assemblages across elevational and latitudinal
gradients in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Arctic, in press.
Callaghan T.V., Bjorn L.O., Chernov Y., Chapin T., Christensen T.R., Huntley B.,
Ims R.A., Johansson M., Jolly D., Jonasson S., Matveyeva N., Panikov N.,
Oechel W., Shaver G. & Henttonen H. 2004. Effects on the structure of arctic
ecosystems in the short- and long-term perspectives. Ambio, 33: 436-447.
Danks H.V. 2004. Seasonal adaptations in arctic insects. Integrative and
Comparative Biology, 44: 85-94.
Hansell R.I.C., Malcolm J.R., Welch H., Jefferies R.L. & Scott P.A. 1998.
Atmospheric change and biodiversity in the Arctic. Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment, 49: 303-325
Jakob E.M., Marshall S.D. & Uetz G.W. 1996. Estimating fitness: A comparison of
body condition indices. Oikos, 77: 61-67.
Reynolds J.D. 2003. Life histories and extinction risk. In: Macroecology, T.M.
Blackburn & K.J. Gaston (eds), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
Tokeshi M. 1999. Species coexistence: Ecological and evolutionary perspectives.
Blackwell Science, Oxford.
92
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
93
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Despite the fact that the order Solifugae is several times less diverse than
Acari, Araneae, Opiliones, Scorpiones and Pseudoscopiones, this group is still
poorly known in South America. It is possible that, the low diversity currently
recorded to the Neotropical Region could be merely reflecting the lack of
taxonomists currently working on the group, which resulted in a small number of
species described in the current decade. The most important studies on South
American species were done by Roewer and, specially, Maury; but a few recent
contributions have been published, extending the geographical distribution of
Brazilian species, describing new species from Neotropical Biomes such as
Caatinga and Cerrado, or redescribing species based on recent collected
specimens.
The known distribution of Solifugae species in Brazil is still fragmentary,
with large areas without records. Presently, there are only two records in the
Northeastern Brazil: a single juvenile Ammotrechidae collected at Balsas, State
of Maranhão, and the type series of Mummucia mauryi Rocha 2001, which type-
locality is Ibiraba, Bahia State.
Herein, we present the first records of Solifugae from the State of Piauí,
Northeastern Brazil, with the description of a new species of the genus
Mummucia (Mummucidae), from the Serra das Confusões National Park, in the
Caatinga Biome. We also performed geometric morphometrical analyzes to
compare the new Mummucia species with Metacleobis fulvipes Roewer 1934,
owing to their cheliceral dentition similarities.
Methods
Adult individuals (males) of Mummucia n. sp. (n=14) were compared to
M. fulvipes (n=10) regarding the geometry of propeltidium. Digital images of
propeltidium of both species (males) were captured by a Leica DFC320 digital
camera coupled to a Leica S6 stereoscope equipped with plain lenses which
94
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
95
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Remarks
The new species Mummucia n. sp., is assigned to the type genus
Mummucia, solely because at the present time it is impossible to reliably
distinguish the genera of Mummuciidae, as already pointed out by Maur y. The
same decision was taken by other authors. The family Mummuciidae still
requires an entire taxonomic and phylogenetic revision to better understand the
genera limits and define the most useful characters for species definition.
However, one character appears to be constant in the family: the flagellum
longitudinal ectal opening, which was already reported only for Mummucia
coaraciandu, M. mauryi, M. taiete Rocha & Carvalho, 2006 and Metacleobis
fulvipes.
Mummucia n. sp. resembles M. coaraciandu in the colour pattern of the
pleurites, which was proposed to be species-specific in the family
Mummuciidae. This feature appears to be convergent on these two species, as
they differ in the chelicerae dentition, a currently character to support species
recognition. Besides, the geometry of propeltidium showed that males of
Mummucia n. sp. may be diagnosed with >91% accuracy when compared to M.
fulvipes. Landmarks 2-8 comprise most the shape variety between the species.
Natural History. The individuals were collected at Serra das Confusões
National Park (9º27'-9º31'S, 43º05'-43º56'W, Guaribas and Caracol
municipalities) in Piauí State, Northeastern Brazil. The climate is hot tropical
semi-arid, with temperature ranging from 18ºC and 38ºC (average 25ºC). The
Serra das Confusões National Park is a 500.000ha reserve, covered by Caatinga
phytophysionomies (arboreal Caatinga, shrubland Caatinga, and enclave forests)
inserted on the arenilitic plateaus (chapadas) and depressions of the Parnaíba
River Basin. The sampling at Serra das Confusões National Park occurred in
October 2006 and July 2007, with pit-fall traps with drift fences (30 blocks of
four 60L plastic buckets, arranged like a “Y”, with drift fences of 60 cm high; 24
h samples). We collected fourteen specimens (eleven males and three females),
all in July 2007, when the enclave area was not sampled. A total of seven
individuals were collected on arboreal Caatinga and six individuals on shrubland
Caatinga. The low number of individuals sampled and the punctual sampling
events prevent us to infer about habitat selection.
96
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Large-scale habitat fragmentation and ecosystem change are some of the
consequences of dam constructions, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.
The land-bridge islands created by damming rivers, result in alterations of the
forest structure, physical conditions, and species diversity: often resulting in the
extinction of some species and changes in the dominance of others.
An increasing number of studies have assessed the effects of forest
fragmentation on the tropical biota, but most of them were conducted in
landscapes for which the matrix was secondary forests, selective logging forest, or
exotic plantations. Until recently, only three studies have investigated the
association between whip spiders and microhabitat use and only one was carried
out in Brazil. Dias & Machado investigated the microhabitat use by
Heterophrynus longicornis (Butler 1973) in an area of continuous forest in Central
Amazonia. In this study, the authors concluded that H. longicornis prefers large
trees bearing buttresses for mating and hunting; and trees with burrows at their
base where the individuals hide during daytime.
The aim of the present study was to test the differences between the
abundance of H. longicornis in edge and interior island plots in the Tucuruí dam’s
lake in Eastern Amazonia; and also provide some information on the abundance
and microhabitat use by age-sex class of this whip spider. Besides, we tested the
influence of the mean basal area on the whip spider abundances in the sampled
plots. As H. longicornis prefers large trees bearing buttresses, and larger trees have
a higher mortality rate near forest fragments periphery, we expect that this species
would be less likely to reside on the periphery of the forest.
97
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
the higher portions of the mounds and hills, which were not flooded by the lake,
therefore they exhibit a highly accidental topography. The annual mean rainfall
in the area is 2500 mm, with a dry season of three to five months long, normally
from July to November. The mean temperature is 24ºC.
Eight land-bridge islands on the right periphery of the Tucuruí dam were
chosen, using a satellite images (ETM/Landsat 7 of 2005). The criteria for
choosing the islands were size, shape, degree of isolation, and conservation
status of the island. The sizes of the islands varied from 12.9 to 91.3 ha, the
elevations of the islands from the periphery to the interior ranged from 8 to 31
meters (19.5±6.2 m; determined using GPS Garmin Map 76CS) and the shape
index varied from 1.074 to 2.09 The areas with shape index lower than 2.5,
theoretically presented areas that do not experience edge effect (core areas), and
could thus be selected for our study. On each island, two plots of 5 x 100 m were
laid out, one 30 m from the island edge, and the other in the interior of the island
at 100-150 m from the island edge. The classification of plots into periphery and
interior was based on previous studies of forest dynamics indicating that most
edge effects penetrate up to 100m from the edge. We actively searched for the
whip spiders along the transects, on tree trunks, inside natural cavities on fallen
logs, on the ground and inside termite nests. Each plot was searched only once,
between 19:00 and 24:00 h, on six consecutive nights during July 2006. In the
same we measured the diameter at breast height (DBH) of all trees and vines
with a DBH≥5 cm. This measurement was used to calculate the mean basal area
(BA) of each plot, using the formula BA=(π*DBH2)/4.
All individuals were captured and recorded as males, females or juveniles,
and then were released. Body measurements were not collected and juveniles
were not classified in sizes or age class. For each collected individual, the
substrate was recorded as: tree, ground or termite nest. The diameter at breast
height (DBH) of all trees with whip spiders was measured; and the presence (or
absence) of termite nests at the base of the trees was categorized. As the species
H. longicornis is widely distributed over the Brazilian Amazon, is easily
recognized by morphological characteristics and there are many records from
Tucuruí dam’s area, we considered unnecessary to collect and deposit voucher
specimens on research collections.
To test the null hypothesis of no significant differences between the
abundance of whip spiders in edge and interiors plots, and also the effect of the
mean basal area inside each plots we conducted a covariance analysis. The mean
basal area and the whip spider abundances were Ln transformed for this analysis.
To compare the abundances of whip spiders between the microhabitats classes,
we used a Kruskal-Wallis test. The statistical analyses we performed using
SYSTAT 12.0, with a significance level of 5%. Abundance data are expressed as
means ±1 SD.
98
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
the abundance of whip spiders on edge and interior plots (F=1.385; p=0.264), and no
covariate effect between the mean basal area and the habitat type (periphery or
interior plots) was observed (F=1.043; p=0.329). On the other hand, the abundance
of whip spiders directly increased with the mean basal area of the plots (F=8.431;
p=0.014).
The abundance of whip spiders was higher on trees with termite nests at the
base (n=51), than on trees without termite nests (n=28), or on termite nests far from
trees (n=19). Only 10 individuals were seen wandering or hunting on the ground.
There was no significant difference between the abundance of whip spiders in the
substrate classes (H=5.743; p=0.125). On eleven occasions, more than one
individual (from two to six specimens) was seen on the same tree, but no
intraspecific interaction was observed in the field. Five mother-offspring groups
were recorded on trees, and a male-male pair or an offspring group was seen only
once. Three mother-father-offspring groups and one male-female pair were
recorded. The whip spiders were found more frequently (84.81%) in tress with 10
cm and 50 cm of DBH. On termite nests, the whip spiders were seen only alone,
never in pairs or groups. Four females bearing egg sacs were recorded, all on trees
with termite nests at the base, and with DBH larger than 18 cm. A female preying on
a Lepidoptera (Arthropoda, Insecta) was recorded.
Many studies have shown that different invertebrate groups respond
differently to forest fragmentation and edge effects and concluded that some species
can increase their abundance toward the periphery and others can decrease it. The
absence of significant differences between the abundance of whip spiders in
periphery and interior plots of the islands might be explained by two reasons: either
this fact reflects the disturbed situation of the entire fragment, which could not have
core areas (places that do not suffer the edge effects) due to its topography; or this is
an indication that Amblypygi are not affected by environmental conditions imposed
by the edge effects.
The presence of whip spiders on/near termite nests appears to be related to the
availability of shelters, foraging surface and places that can be used as arena for
courtship, acting like tree buttress. Thus, the presence of termite nests might be
another variable to be evaluated in studies on whip spider’s microhabitat selection.
This substrate can suppress the absence of trees with buttress for the behavioural
activities of whip spiders.
Most studies state that adult Amblypygi are generally solitary and intolerant
predators of congeners, at least during part of their lives; although a few authors
argued that H. longicornis from the Brazilian Amazon are especially tolerant of one
another and the male-female pairs can share the same hiding place. This tolerance
appears to be higher than expected, as 49.4% of the individuals observed on trees,
were sharing the same tree with at least one conspecific. This can be explained by
the low degree of aggressiveness towards conspecifics. Future studies are necessary
to understand the population dynamics and structure of Heterophrynus longicornis
in natural and altered habitats.
99
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Coastal meadows are unique because of specific soil conditions, flora and
fauna communities and rare habitats with high conservation value. The need of
extensive management of these habitats is important to minimize overgrowing
by reed and shrubs (Melecis et al. 1997). As management of meadows has
decreased more attention has been paid to study of influence of harvesting
methods on flora and fauna. The impact of changes in harvesting methods of
meadows on spider distribution is discussed in several publications (Cattin at al.
2003, Humbert at al. 2009 – in inland meadows), about spider biodiversity
potential in inland salt meadows (Zulka et al. 1997). Additionally, about web-
spinning spider diversity and vegetation structural diversity versus pray
availability – Greenstone (1984) and spider dependence on the whole habitat
structure (also vegetation height) (Duffey 1966).
Randa meadows are protected and included in the North Vidzeme
Biosphere Reserve and are Natura 2000 site (Anonymous 2010). Historically the
territory of meadows was maintained by cattle grazing and hay harvesting.
During the last decades the management intensity has sharply decreased and the
majority of territory has overgrown by shrubs and reed. Brackish marine waters
irregularly overflow these meadows by during heavy storms.
The grass-dwelling arthropod communities have been researched since
1994 (Melecis et al. 1998). Results showed that spiders had higher abundance in
the xerophytic meadows. Studies of grassland arthropods showed the decrease of
spider total abundance from inland to seashore since 1996 (Melecis et al. 1997).
The aim of the current research is to investigate a spider fauna in the
Randa meadows and to identify species communities in the particular coastal
meadow habitats and connection with the vegetation characteristics during long-
term observations.
100
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
according to Locket & Millidge (1953), Nentwig et al. I2003) and Almquist
(2005, 2006). Nomenclature follows Platnick (2010).
The seasonal data of every year and data of the 12-year study in the every
meadow type were pooled thus giving 18 data sets used in the analysis. Only
data of adult spiders were used. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and
Indicator species analysis (significance level p>0.05) was used to find
differences among sampling plots (habitats), Cluster analysis – for plot
grouping. Engelmann’s (1987) domination classification was used to
characterise the dominance structure.
Results
In total, 644 adult spiders belonging to 13 families, to 75 species and 22
species identified to genus or family level. Spiders of the families Araneidae
(20.34% of all collected spiders) and Linyphiidae (28.57%) dominated.
Theridiidae (12.11%), Tetragnathidae (6.67%), Lycosidae (5.28%),
Philodromidae (7.92%), Thomisidae (9.94%) and Salticidae (4.19%) were
subdominants, while Pisauridae, Dictynidae, Miturgidae, Clubionidae and
Gnaphosidae were recedents or subrecedents.
No spider species dominated. Theridion impressum (7.61% of all collected
spiders), Microlinyphia pusilla (4.5%), Araneus quadratus (5.59%), Tibellus
oblongus (4.19%) and Xysticus cristatus (5.12%) were subdominants.
Individuals of the genus Tetragnatha spp. (4.81%), Bathyphantes spp. (4.34%)
and Pardosa spp. (4.04%) were subdominants.
Discussion
Spiders in the coastal meadows in Latvia have been investigated for the
first time and no comparative studies are available.
Pétillon et al. (2007) investigated impact of cutting and sheep grazing on
spiders and beetles in intertidal salt marshes with use of pitfall traps and
associated it with some halophilic species. 21.7% of species were the same as in
our research, but none of them was halophilic. Finch et al. (2007) studied spider
and beetle zonation in the salt marshes at North Sea coast. Positive connection of
increase of mean high tide and total spider number was found. Because of
different method and time scale used (transect, pitfall traps, two years) only
17.7% of species were as in our study. Irmler et al. (2002) obtained similar
results in the research in two salt marshes at North and Baltic Sea. Abundance of
spiders increased at North Sea, but species richness – at Baltic Sea (12.1%) and
connected with the increase of mean high tide.
Among dominant and subdominant species Xysticus cristatus can be found
on grass and mosses, Tibellus oblongus – at seashore and in wet meadows,
Theridion impressum – in heatlands, gardens, on the bushes, Araneus quadratus
– wet meadows with high vegetation (Almquist 2005, 2006), Microlinyphia
pusilla – on low vegetation in moist and dry habitats (Benjamin et al. 2002). In
comparison with literature data only Tibellus oblongus and Theridion
impressum could be regarded characteristic for coastal meadows.
101
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Almquist S. 2005. Swedish Araneae, part 1 – families Atypidae to Hahniidae. Insect
Systematics & Evolution, 62, Sweden, 284 pp.
Almquist S. 2006. Swedish Araneae, part 2 – families Dictynidae to Salticidae.
Insect Systematics & Evolution, 63, Sweden, 285-603 pp.
Anonymous 17.02.2010. [Randa meadows, restricted area of nature], online:
http://www.daba.gov.lv/index.php?objid=502.
Benjamin S.P., Düggelin M. & Zschokke S. 2002. Fine structure of sheet-webs of
Linyphia triangularis (Clerk) and Microlinyphia pusilla (Sundevall), with
remarks on the presence of viscid silk. Acta Zoologica, 83: 49-59.
Cattin M.-F., Blandenier G., Banašek-Richter C. & Bersier L.-F. 2003. The impact
of mowing as a management strategy for wet meadows on spider (Araneae)
communities. Biological Conservation, 113: 179-188.
Duffey E. 1966. Spider ecology and habitat structure. Senckenbergiana biologica,
47: 45-49.
Engelmann A.-D. 1978. Dominant klassifizierung von Bodenarthropoden.
Pedobiologia, 18: 378-380.
Finch O.D., Krummer H., Plaiser F. & Schultz W. 2007. Zonation of spiders
(Araneae) and carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in island salt marshes
at the North Sea coast. Wetlands Ecology and Management, 15(3): 207-228.
Irmler U., Heller K., Meyer H. & Reinke H.-D. 2002. Zonation of ground beetles
(Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders (Araneidae) in salt marshes at the North
and the Baltic Sea and the impact of the predicted sea level increase.
Biodiversity and Conservation, 11: 1129-1147.
Humbert J.-Y., Ghazoul J. & Walter T. 2009. Meadow harvesting techniques and
their impacts on field fauna. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 130:
1-8.
Locket G.H. & Millidge A.F. 1953. British Spiders. 2. Metchim & Son LTD.,
London: 449 pp.
Nentwig W., Hänggi A., Kropf C., & Blick T. 2003. Spinnen Mitteleuropas/Central
European Spiders. Version 8.12.2003. An Internet identification key,
http://www.araneae.unibe.ch.
Pétillon J., Georges A., Canard A. & Ysnel F. 2007. Impact of cutting and sheep
grazing on ground-active spiders and carabids in internal salt marshes
(Western France). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 30(2): 201-209.
Platnick N.I. 2010. The World Spider Catalog. Version 10.0. AMNH, at www:
http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog.
Relys V. & Spunģis V. 2002. Check list of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of Latvia,
http://leb.daba.lv/Aranea.htm.
Melecis V., Karpa A., Kabucis I. & Savičs F., Liepiņa L. 1997. Distribution of
grassland arthropods along a coenocline of seashore meadow vegetation,
Latvia. Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Section B,
51(5/6): 222-233.
102
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
103
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
104
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
group often turns out to be very hard. Despite the courtship displays of the many
Pardosa species has never been observed, it may represent a useful diagnostic
tool to separate species. This is particularly true when considering sibling
species occurring in syntopy, as demonstrated by Den Hollander and Dijkstra
(1974), who described the first ethospecies, P. vlijmi, distinguished from the
sibling P. proxima on the basis of the courtship display. Another example within
the same genus is provided by Topfer-Hofmann et al. (2000) with the description
of two new ethospecies within the P. lugubris group: P. saltans and P. pertinax.
Our research focus on the study of the courtship behaviour of different
species of the genus Pardosa, providing new methods for the description and the
analysis of courtship displays aiming to outline the undescribed ones and to
study their variability within species. We collected spiders in NW Italy and
Belgium. All the specimens were adult or sub-adult reared in tubes in standard
condition and fed with Drosophila sp. ad libitum.
The courtship behaviour of the males has been obtained by putting it in
contact with the female into a glass arena. All the behaviours were recorded for
one hour with two high definition cameras at recording speed of 50i (50 frame
per second interlaced). The movies were acquired and edited with specific
software.
The first step of the analysis was to identify the behavioural acts that
characterized the behaviour type. The different behavioural acts compose a
behavioural pattern that is specie specific. On the other hand, each act is
composed by the movement of the different anatomical parts involved in the
behaviour (Lehner 1998) namely the palps, the abdomen, the first pair of legs
and the general movement of the body. In this way, a list of acts that can be
analyzed with a software can be obtained for each specimen. The software is
able to find linkages among different behavioural acts within a defined
behavioural pattern. The second type of analysis is the Optical flow analysis.
This mathematical method can measure the proprieties of the video (this analysis
was presented by Elias et al. (2005) working on the courtship behaviour of some
Salticids). The result is a speed profile plot of the local speed estimation of the
pixel that compose the image. The plot is analyzed with a second program that is
able to measure the duration of each behavioural act selected by the user, the
time interval between behavioural acts, the number of peaks that compose the
speed profile plot and their characteristics such as the mean period and
coefficient of variation.
By means of these methods we studied the courtship display of about
twenty species of Pardosa, more than half of them never observed before. In this
work we present an overview of the results obtained in the first two years of the
research.
The first study dealt with Pardosa wagleri and P. saturatior, sibling
species ecologically separated, previously studied by Tongiorgi (1966a) and
Barthel & von Helversen (1990). We described the courtship displays of the two
species for the first time, highlighting differences and similarity of the two
behaviours (Chiarle et al. in press). Our study deepened the work of Tongiorgi
105
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
(1966a) and Barthel & von Helversen (1990), providing new insights
(description and confront of the two displays) on the biology of the two species.
We also studied syntopic occurrence and mixed populations of P. proxima
and P. vlijmi that we recorded in Italy for the first time. A detailed description of
the courtship display in comparison with the one observed by den Hollander and
Dijkstra (1974) was provided. Additionally we compared the two behaviours and
the variability within species, adding some remarks about the morphology of
male palps, that may be useful for a correct species identification (Chiarle &
Isaia in prep.). In the perspective of using courtship displays to identify species,
we analyzed the courtship displays of P. blanda, P. mixta and P. torrentum
(showing clear difference in their courtship despite morphological similarity).
We also described the courtship displays of P. nigra, a species that stands out for
its unclear taxonomical position (several authors placed it in the genus
Acantholycosa) but also for the peculiarity of its courtship display. A possible
new ethospecies from an Alpine meadow in south western Alps has also been
observed.
To deepen the work we also investigated the degree of reproductive
isolation of these species, using molecular markers. This approach has been
successfully used in the study of phylogenetic divergence in sibling species
complexes (De Busschere et al. in prep). In our case we compared the
ethological results to the genetic ones, highlighting some interesting aspects in
terms of allopatric speciation (P. wagleri vs. P. saturatior), syntopic close-
related species (P. monticola group) and genetic diversity (P. proxima vs. P.
vlijmi).
References
Barthel J. & von Helversen O. 1990. Pardosa wagleri (Hahn 1822) and Pardosa
saturatior Simon 1937, a pair of sibling species (Araneae, Lycosidae).
Bullettin de la Société européenne de Arachnologie, Hors Série, 1: 17-23.
Chiarle A., Isaia M. & Castellano S. (in press). New findings on the courtship
behaviour of Pardosa wagleri (Hanh, 1822) and P. saturatior Simon,
1937 (Araneae, Lycosidae), a pair of sibling species. Contribution to
Natural History (Bern).
den Hollander J. den & Dijkstra H. 1974. Pardosa vlijmi sp . nov., a new
ethospecies sibling Pardosa proxima (C. L . Koch, 1948), from France,
with description of courtship display (Araneae, Lycosidae). Beaufortia,
22: 57-65.
Elias D.O., Land B.R., Manson A.C. & Hoy R.R. 2005. Measuring and
quantifying dynamic signals in jumping spiders. Journal of Comparative
Physiology, A, 192: 785-797.
Foelix R.F. 1996. Biology of spiders. Oxford University Press, Berlin.
Gibson J.S. & Uetz G.W. 2008. Seismcommunication and mate choice in wolf
spiders: components of male seismic signals and mating success. Animal
Behaviour, 75: 1253-1262.
Huber B.A. 2005. Sexual selection research on spiders: progress and biases.
Biological Review, 80: 363-385.
106
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
107
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The fauna of bird nests has been mainly studied from the parasitological
point of view. Pseudoscorpions as typical nest predators represent a less
examined group.
The differences between the opinions about the relationship of
pseudoscorpions to bird-nest as a type of environment have inspired us to carry
out this research. In particular, the specific objectives were: 1) to evaluate
pseudoscorpion presence in different types of nests, 2) to monitor the occurrence
of developmental phases during the nesting season and 3) to characterize and
categorize pseudoscorpion species according to their relationship to the hosts.
Results
The highest number of species belonged to the family of Chernetidae (318
specimens) – Chernes hahnii, Dendrochernes cyrneus, Allochernes wideri,
Lamprochernes chyzeri, L. nodosus and Pselaphochernes scorpioides. Two
species belonged to the family of Cheliferidae (98 specimens) – Chelifer
cancroides, Dactylochelifer latreillii and one species represented each family of
Neobisiidae (4 specimens) – Neobisium carcinoides, Larcidae (4 specimens) –
Larca lata and Cheiridiidae (56 specimens) – Cheiridium museorum. 5 species
were recorded in Austria, 3 species in the Czech Republic and 11 species were
recorded in Slovak Republic.
Based on analysis of 480 specimens from 171 nests of 28 bird species the
pseudoscorpion community was characterized by the frequent presence of
species Ch. museorum, D. latreillii, D. cyrneus, A. wideri and P. scorpioides.
Almost 72% of individuals were present in hollow nests and nest boxes, the
108
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
lowest number of individuals were present in open nests in reeds and burrows
(0.2%). Pseudoscorpions living under tree bark or in tree hollows searched for
hollow nests respectively open nests on trees, epigeic species for nests on the
ground and synanthropic species for nests in or on the buildings.
PCA confirmed the high proportion and influence of P. scorpioides in the
Hoopoe nests, D. cyrneus in the Eurasian Tree Sparrow nests and A. wideri in
the nests of Tawny Owl, European Scops Owl and European Roller. In contrast,
D. latreillii influenced the nest fauna of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes and Ch.
museorum the nests of White Wagtails.
The development stages of nine pseudoscorpion species were confirmed in
some types of nests. The first females with eggs appeared in May, they reached a
peak in June and then they gradually declined in number until August. The
protonymphs reached the maximum in July afterwards their frequency continued
to decrease until September. The deutonymphs occurred in a higher number in
July, their maximum was in August. The abundance of tritonymphs gradually
increased from April and reached a peak in August. The adults achieved the
maximum in August.
Based on the analysis of the pseudoscorpions, they were grouped into
two basic categories:
A. ixenous species – pseudoscorpions occurred accidentally in bird-nests,
the developmental stages are represented sporadically – N. carcinoides, L.
chyzeri, L. nodosus and probably L. lata.
B. ilous or nidicolous species – pseudoscorpions occurred regularly in
bird-nests, the developmental stages are represented numerously. These species
prefer nests in certain habitats with specific building and microclimate
conditions:
- synanthropic nests: Ch. museorum, Ch. cancroides;
- hollow nests: D. cyrneus, A. wideri;
- open and hollow nests on trees and shrubs: D. latreillii, Ch. hahnii;
- nests with decomposed material: P. scorpioides.
We confirmed the occurrence of 11 pseudoscorpion species in bird nests.
Seven of them were nidiphilous or nidicolous. Microclimatic conditions,
conditions for individual development and trophic offers affect the
pseudoscorpion fauna in nests in extenso.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to all our colleagues for collecting
the bird-nests and Ing. Martin Fris and Doc. M. Holecová for their technical
assistance. This study was financially supported by VEGA grants No. 1/0176/09,
02/0067/08 and KEGA grant No. 3/6235/08.
109
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
110
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
111
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
112
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The spiders of the family Eresidae are represented poorly in Indian fauna.
This study examines species in a relatively diverse lineage of Stegodyphus
spiders in the Satpuda highlands, where they appear to have undergone adaptive
radiation, with several species generally co-occurring at any one locality. Four
new species of spiders from family Eresidae are recorded from outskirt of
Amravati city (Maharashtra) during 2009.
Keywords: new species, taxonomy, Stegodyphus, India.
113
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
114
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The spinning apparatus (spinning glands and spinnerets) is one of the most
outstanding features in spiders. Its product, a silk thread, plays an important role
in all spiders, at least in several stages of their life. Till now, mostly the spinning
apparatus of araneid spiders has been studied. On the contrary, there are only a
few papers dealing with the lycosid spinning apparatus. Jaworowski (1896),
Richter (1970a) and Traciuc (1971) were among the firsts who studied the
spinning apparatus of wolf spiders. Richter (1970b) focused on histological and
morphological changes of spinning glands related to maturation of Pardosa
amentata whereas Wąsowska (1977) described spinnerets development in P.
lugubris. Bílek (1992) compared piriform spigots of four wolf spiders with those
of other araneomorph spiders, and finally Townley & Tillinghast (2003)
investigated the role of lycosid ampullate gland silks. However, a complex
study, combining histology of spinning glands and morphology of spinnerets in
all instars of wolf spiders is still lacking.
The aim of the present study is to describe the spinning apparatus of two
rare European wolf spiders (Lycosidae), to investigate its changes during the
spiders’ ontogeny and to compare a spinning apparatus of a burrowing spider
with that of a vagrant one. Tricca lutetiana (Simon, 1876) is a burrowing wolf
spider inhabiting entirely enclosed, not silk lined burrows (Dolejš et al. 2008)
whereas Arctosa alpigena lamperti Dahl, 1908 is a vagrant species. The spiders
were fixed in modified (Smrž 1989) Bouin-Dubosque-Brasil fluid, embedded in
Paraplast plus (Fluka) and sectioned by rotary microtome (Leica RM 2155) at 6
– 8 μm. Sections were stained in triple stains (Masson’s, Gomori’s, Pollak’s and
Domagk’s trichrome). The preparations were inspected under a light microscope
(Olympus Provis AX 70). Selected plates were photographed using a 3CCD
colour video camera (Sony DXC-950P). The external morphology of spinnerets
was examined using a scanning electron microscope (JEOL JSM-6380 LV).
Here, results of the first three and last two instars are presented. Number
of half of the spinning apparatus is given. The spinning apparatus of the first
instar (T. lutetiana/A. a. lamperti) consists of 5/6 piriform and 7/15 aciniform
glands only. During the second and third instar, their number increase (more
rapidly in A. a. lamperti), and a pair of ampullate glands appears. In both
species, subadult males, compared with adult males, possess similar number of
1
The research founded by the Grant Agency of the Charles University: GA UK140907
115
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
spinning glands. In females of both species, only a few tubuliform glands appear
after the final moult.
T. lutetiana and A. a. lamperti have four types of spinning glands as other
lycosid species studied so far. However, piriform and aciniform glands differ in
number and size, probably reflecting different life strategies of both species.
Number of spinning glands of A. a. lamperti resembles those of vagrant Pardosa
lugubris (Wąsowska 1977), whereas number of spinning glands of T. lutetiana is
lower as the species does not spin very often given its lifestyle (Dolejš et al.
2008). In further study, the spinning apparatus of the remaining instars of both
species will be investigated. For comparison, developmental changes of spinning
apparatus in two more species – Pardosa amentata (Clerck, 1757) and
Xerolycosa nemoralis (Westring, 1861) – will be studied.
References
Bílek P. 1992. Cuticular spinning structures reveal evolutionary relationships in
araneomorph spiders. Sbor. věd. Prací LF UK Hradec Králové, 35(4): 353-370.
Dolejš P., Kubcová L. & Buchar J. 2008. Subterrestrial life of Arctosa lutetiana
(Araneae, Lycosidae). Journal of Arachnology, 36(1): 202-203.
Jaworowski A. 1896. Die Entwicklung des Spinnenapparates bei Trochosa
singoriensis Laxm. mit Berücksichtung der Abdominalhänge und der
Flügel bei den Insekten. Zeitschrift fűr Naturwissenschaften, 30(23): 39-74.
Richter C.J.J. 1970a. Relation between Habitat Structure and Development of
the Glandulae ampullaceae in Eight Wolf Species (Pardosa, Araneae,
Lycosidae). Oecologia, 5: 185-199.
Richter C.J.J. 1970b. Morphology and Function of the Spinning Apparatus of
the Wolf Spider Pardosa amentata (Cl.) (Araneae, Lycosidae). Zeitschrift
fűr Morphologie der Tiere, 68: 37-68.
Smrž J. 1989. Internal Anatomy of Hypochthonius rufulus (Acari: Oribatida).
Journal of Morphology, 200: 215-230.
Townley M.A. & Tillinghast E.K. 2003. On the use of ampullate gland silks by
wolf spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae) for attaching the egg sac to the
spinnerets and a proposal for defining nubbins and tartipores. Journal of
Arachnology, 31(2): 209-245.
Traciuc E. 1971. L’appareil séricigèna chez Pardosa lugubris (Lycosidae,
Araneae). Revue Roumaine de Biologie, Zoologie, 16(3): 171-174.
Wąsowska S. 1977. Studies on the spinning apparatus in spiders. Postembryonic
morphogeny of the spinning apparatus. Zoologica Poloniae, 26(3-4): 55-407.
116
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
117
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity at
the Humboldt University Berlin, Germany, jason.dunlop@mfn-berlin.de,
anja.friederichs@mfn-berlin.de
The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, boasts over 5,000 type species of
arachnids, myriapods and stem-group arthropods. A preliminary Excel file
listing our known, suspected (and missing) types is now freely available from
the authors as an aid to systematic research, and will be regularly updated and
emended in the future. The raw data has also been cross-referenced by author,
locality and collector. This allows collection strengths to be identified and
should also facilitate wider studies of, say, biogeography or cultural-historical
aspects. Many of our types have already been databased in further detail using
the SysTax platform <http://www.biologie.uni-ulm.de/systax/>, developed under
the auspices of the German branch of GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information
Facility) <http://www.gbif.de/>. We encourage users to access our primary data
– and those of other collections – via these portals too.
118
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
119
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
120
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Division of Plant Industry, Gainesville, FL, USA,
edwardg@doacs.state.fl.us
121
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Mark A. Elgar
122
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
123
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
124
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
125
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
2n♂=26; two Falconina species, including that studied in the present research, all
with 2n♂=28, as well as Corinna; one species of Oedignatha, with 2n♂=26; and
three species of Trachelas, with 2n♂=22 or 2n♂=24. Looking at these data, one
can notice that at least until now, the chromosomal data on corinnids are useful
from the cytotaxonomical point of view. Besides, Xeropigo has the highest diploid
number found to the family, 2n♂=30. The genera Corinna and Falconina showed
2n♂=28, while the genera Castianeira and Oedignatha presented 2n♂=26, and the
genus Trachelas is characterized by smaller numbers (2n♂=22 and 2n♂=24). In
relation to the chromosome morphology, the family seems to be extremely
conserved, showing elements exclusively acro/telocentric, which is in accordance
with the observed to other dionychans. The same constancy can be observed
regarding the sex chromosome system that, excepting by the X1X2X3X4
described here for Xeropigo, it is constituted only by the X1 and X2 chromosomes
in all other corinnids, the most common type among all spiders.
It is interesting to notice that the species Xeropigo (2n=30), that at first look
seems to presents a great difference in relation to Corinna and Falconina (2n=28),
actually diverges only in relation to the sex chromosomes, possessing the same 26
autosomes.
The sex chromosome system of the type X1X2X3X4 is extremely rare
among spiders, occurring only in three species belonging to the families
Tetragnathidae (Araneoidea), and Sparassidae, a Dionycha as well as the
corinnids. According with the literature, in Tetragnathidae, the karyotype
2n♂=24=20+X1X2X3X4 could have been arisen from a karyotype with
2n=25♂=22+X1X2X3 that originates from a karyotype with 2n♂=24=22+X1X2.
In the case of Corinnidae, it is possible to suggest that a complement composed by
2n♂=28=26+X1X2, as that found in Corinna and Falconina, could give rise to a
complement constituted by 2n♂=29=26+X1X2X3. This type of karyotype was not
found in Corinnidae up to now; however, its existence is extremely plausible,
considering that this configuration it was actually found in Selenopidae and
Saticidae, two other families of Dionycha. Afterwards, the karyotype composed by
three X chromosomes could give rise to a complement that consists of
2n♂=30=26+X1X2X3X4, as described for Xeropigo. In this way, there is no
change in the number of autosomes, which remains 26 during the karyotype
evolution, and only the number of sex chromosomes increases. According to the
literature, both the differentiation of a X1X2 system into a X1X2X3 system, and
the transformation of a X1X2X3 system into a X1X2X3X4, imply the non-
disjunction or duplication of a X chromosome, with the subsequent homology lost.
126
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
127
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
cell alignment described for lamellae in the book lungs of spider and scorpion
embryos (Montgomery 1909, Janeck 1909, Farley 2008) .
In scorpion embryos, the mesosomal limb buds disappear (except for the
pectinal ones) well before spiracles and tissue invagination become evident near
the posterior margin of opisthosomal segments 4-7 (Farley 2008). Since there is
no pre-existing structure that can serve as a guide, the lamellae are initially
formed by alignment of cells (single file) in a series of parallel rows. It is
difficult to discern from the diagrams provided by Montgomery (1909) and
Janeck (1909), but there may be differences in the details of cellular formation
of lamellae in spider and scorpion embryos (Farley 2008), although cell
alignment from undifferentiated precursors appears to be a common feature.
I have examined book lung development in representatives from several
scorpion families. Some steps appear to be bypassed in the more derived
families (e.g., Scorpionidae, Liochelidae) as compared with the basal ones (e.g.,
Buthidae, Vaejovidae), but the cellular mode of lamellar formation is similar in
all those studied so far. Cells derived from the invaginated spiracle site align in a
vertical plane and secrete cuticle around themselves (Farley 2008). The secretion
often appears to be holocrine, releasing granules that aggregate spontaneously to
form the lamellar walls. The cells undergo cytolysis while sandwiched within
the cuticular walls they secreted. This leaves the channel open for air except for
bridging trabeculae (cross bridges) that help hold the walls in place. The source
of these initial trabeculae in the second instar is still unknown, either the
degenerating cells in the air channel or the epithelial (tissue) layer that forms on
the cuticle walls in the first and second instar. The epithelial layer produces the
replacement cuticle in the moults of juveniles.
In the book lungs of adult scorpions, the anterior (proximal) edges of the
lamellae (air sacs) have bridging trabeculae that attach to both walls of the air
channel (Kamenz & Prendini 2008, Farley 2008). The posterior (distal) regions
of the lamellae have other types of (non-bridging) trabeculae that are firmly
attached to only one wall of the air channel. This pattern of trabecular
distribution is apparently a result of the growth and moulting process of the
lamellae.
In juvenile scorpions, the bridging trabeculae are formed as part of the
new growth for enlarging the lamellae prior to and during the moult, as bridging
trabeculae are also formed in the air channels when book lungs are initially
formed in embryos and first and second instars (Farley 2008). The non-bridging
trabeculae are produced as part of the replacement cuticle for older, more
posterior regions of the lamellae that are shed in the moult.
References
Damen W.G.M., Saridaki T. & Averof M. 2002. Diverse adaptations of an
ancestral gill: a common evolutionary origin for wings, breathing organs
and spinnerets. Current Biology, 12: 1711-1716.
Farley R.D. 2008. Development of respiratory structures in embryos and first
and second instars of the bark scorpion, Centruroides gracilis (Scorpiones:
Buthidae). Journal of Morphology, 269: 1134-1156.
128
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Farley R.D. 2010. Book gill development in embryos and first and second instars
of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus L. (Chelicerta, Xiphosura).
Arthropod Structure and Development (in press).
Janeck R. 1909. Die entwicklung der blättertracheen und der tracheen bei den
Spinnen. Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft, 44: 587-646.
Kamenz C., Prendini L. 2008. An atlas of book lung fine structure in the order
Scorpiones (Arachnida). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural
History, 316, pp. 4-45.
Kingsley J.S. 1893. The embryology of Limulus. Part II. Journal of Morphology,
8: 195-270.
Montgomery T.H. Jr. 1909. On the spinnerets, cribellum, colulus, tracheae and
lung books of Araneids. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia, 61: 299-320.
Purcell W.F. 1909. Development and origin of the respiratory organs in Araneae.
Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, 54: 1-110.
Willmer P. 1990. Invertebrate Relationships, Patterns in Animal Evolution.
Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 400 pp.
129
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
130
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Nestisidae (1), Oecobiidae (4), Philodromidae (2), Pholcidae (6), Pisauridae (1),
Salticidae (4), Segestriidae (2), Scytodidae (1), Tetragnathidae (4), Theridiidae
(18), Thomisidae (2); also only immatures of Clubionidae and Oxyopidae were
collected. The majority of these spiders are likely to be ‘incidental’ synanthropic
species. We have calculated a relative number of each species’ samples within
the assemblages of all the studied administrative centers according to dominance
structure after Stöcker & Bergman, with the dominance classes as follows: 31.7-
100% – eudominant; 10.1-31.6% – dominant; 3.2-10.0% – subdominant; 1.1-
3.1% – recedent; less than 1% – subrecedent (Stöcker & Bergmann, 1977).
Representatives of only 14 species of 8 genera and 5 families are numerous
enough to belong to higher dominance classes (eudominant, dominant and
subdominant) at least in one of the inventoried cities. Such species form
dominant nuclei of the spiders’ assemblages of Ukraine apartment buildings.
In average, the percentage of Pholcidae and Theridiidae was higher than
that of other families, 57% and 32% correspondingly. Ph. phalangioides
(37.7%) is the most abundant species of Ukraine apartment buildings. It is an
obligatory component of synanthropic spider complexes of every administrative
center, but its proportion varies greatly from about 1% in Rivne to 67% in
Simferopol’. In 16 of the 19 explored cities (64%), Ph. phalangioides was the
most abundant species. It is worth mentioning that Ph. alticeps replaced the
former eudominant species in Lutsk, Rivne, Ternopil (the deciduous forest zone)
and Poltava (the forest-steppe zone). Before our investigations, the latter species
had been recorded in Ukraine only from Kherson region and from the Crimea,
but without exact localities (Dunin 1998). Ph. alticeps was described by Spassky
(1932) on the basis of the material taken from the city of Novocherkassk. Later,
this species was recorded from the European part of Russia, the Caucasus and
Tadjikistan, as well as from several localities of Iran and Afghanistan
(Mikhailov 1997; Senglet 1974, 2008). To date, Ph. alticeps has been reported
from all the physiographic zones of Ukraine except for the Crimea (Fedoriak
2007, Fedoriak & Rudenko 2009), as well as from Poland and Belarus (Fedoriak
2008). We assume that the lack of earlier information about Ph. alticeps was due
to misidentifications.
Except for the aforementioned species, a cumulative percentage of
Ph. ponticus, S. castanea, S. triangulosa and P. tepidariorum was higher than
that of other species, but their distribution was uneven and these species were
very numerous only in spider complexes of a few of cities. Species contributing
about 50% of the totally collected spiders are shown in the Fig. 1. Some poorly
known species have been found. For example, ‘Crustulina’ albovittata
(Theridiidae) was found in Simferopol. Earlier, the species was only known
from two specimens collected in buildings in 1860 (Thorell, 1875). So, our
finding is the first one after almost 150 years. This species does not belong to
Crustulina, but its correct belonging remains unclear (Marusik pers. comm.).
Another interesting species is the North American Agelenopsis potteri, which
has been recorded in recent years from the Far East, Kyrgyzstan and the east of
Ukraine. Thus, Uzhgorod is currently the westernmost locality of the species
distribution in the Palearctic Region.
131
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Table. A relative number of species (%) forming dominant nuclei of the spiders’
assemblages of Ukraine apartment buildings, in accordance with the physiographic
subdivision given in National Atlas of Ukraine (2007). UK – the mountain region – the
Ukrainian Carpathians; MFZ – the mixed forest zone; DFZ – the deciduous forest zone;
FSZ – the forest-steppe zone; SZ – the steppe zone; CMR – the Crimean Mountain
region.
132
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Fig. 1. The most abundant species, forming a half of the collected samples in each
administrative centre.
References
Dunin P.M. 1998. Review of the spiders family Pholcidae C.L. Koch, 1851
(Arachnida, Aranei, Haplogynae) of Eastern Europe. In: The Proceedings of
the I Intern. Conf. "Problems of Entomol. of the European part of Russia
and adjoining territories". Samara, pp. 139-144 [in Russian].
Fedoriak M.M. & Rudenko S.S. 2009. On the state of study of spiders (Aranei)
in dwelling and business premises of Ukrainian settlements. Scientific
Papers. Kherson, pp. 383-388 [in Russian].
Fedoriak M.M. 2008. Preliminary data about the distribution of Pholcus alticeps
(Aranei: Pholcidae) in Ukraine and adjoining territories. In: The
Proceedings of the Intern. Conf. "Fundamental aspects of biology in
solving environmental problems". Astrahan, pp. 243-246 [in Russian].
Fedoriak M.M. & Brushnіvska L.V. 2009. Species richness and density of
spiders communities (Araneae) of different floors of buildings. In: The
Proceedings of the II Intern. Conf. "Recent developments in biology,
ecology and chemistry". Zaporіzhzhya, pp. 82-83 [in Ukrainian].
Mikhailov K.G. 1997. Catalogue of the spiders of the territories of the former
Soviet Union (Arachnida, Aranei). – Moscow: Zoological Museum of the
Moscow State University, 416 pp.
National Atlas of Ukraine. 2007. Kyiv, 440 pp. [in Ukrainian].
Senglet A. 1974. Pholcus nouveaux d’Iran (Araneae: Pholcidae). Revue suisse
de Zoologie, 81: 803-812.
133
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
134
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Despite wide distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world,
the biology of Theraphosidae is poorly known. Studies of mating behaviour are
limited to few species.
Vibratory sexual signals (acoustic and seismic) are frequently used in
spider courtship, especially in tarantulas (Uetz & Stratton 1982, Prentice 1992,
Quirici & Costa 2005, 2007). Seismic signals generated by male spiders can
reach 1 m in ctenids (Barth et al. 1988) and 1.30 m in theraphosids (Quirici &
Costa 2007). The usual indicator of effective male signals is the behavioural
change of the receptive female. The most unambiguous receptive response
usually is leg waving, leg tapping or body vibrations (Ferretti & Ferrero 2008,
Prentice 1992, Quirici & Costa 2005, 2007). Grammostola schulzei (Schmidt
1994) is a tarantula from Argentina that lives in burrows under stones in rocky
hills (Ferretti & Ferrero 2008). G. schulzei is the unique species of the genus
where females showed sexual response to courting males, but the context and
possible function of this response was not elucidated (Ferretti & Ferrero 2008).
In captivity, female sexual response could be observed allowing females to build
and occupy a retreat as in natural conditions but not in open arena (Bertani et al.
2008). The main objective of this work is to elucidate under what context
females responded to male’s courtships and to determine the possible function of
these behaviours.
135
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
different situations for the encounters male-female. In series “A”, males were
placed free in terrarium but with no access to female due to the heavy stone
covering the burrow. In series “B”, males were placed far off from the female
burrow (30 cm) and confined into a glass cup. In series “C”, males were placed
over the heavy stone that closed the burrow of female and confined into a glass
cup. The courtship of males was elicited by abundant silk of females inside the
glass cup. For the encounters we used glass terraria measuring 30 x 35 and 30
cm high, containing a 10 cm thick layer of soil as substrate. In each terrarium,
a burrow was constructed against the glass wall, allowing visual observations
of female behaviour inside burrow. Each terrarium was placed in different
tables in order to minimize ground vibrations and to prevent seismic signals
from passing between terraria. Females were placed in terraria and trials were
carried out for >5 days, allowing each female to adapt to the burrow. The
entrance of each burrow was closed with a heavy stone (collected from their
natural habitat) so females couldn’t leave the burrow and had no access to
males. We considered active each male which showed intense courtship of >30
min. The encounters were videotaped with a Handycam Panasonic SDR-S7
and video records were analyzed with a PC program.
Results
We observed two types of responses of females to male courtships: leg
tapping and body movements. In series A, three different females made their
sexual display tapping vigorously with palps and first pair of legs or only with
palps. In video analyses, females made leg flexing, lifting and lowering against
the substrate. The mean number of leg movements during leg tapping was
16.415.26 SD and the mean number of bouts was 20.512 SD. The mean
duration of leg tapping was 1.63s0.90 SD and the mean duration between
bouts of female leg tapping was 48.20s37.49 SD. All responses were after the
palpal drumming of males and long courtships (approximately 1 hour).
Moreover, females that responded with leg tapping scraped vigorously the
stone with first pair of legs. One male obtained responses from two different
females. After female tapping, males frequently oriented to the female burrow
and stayed courting nears her. Females responded with body movement in
series A and C, where males were confined. These displays consisted in high
frequency downward and upward movement of the entire body. In video
analysis, we observed a contraction of the third pair of legs during movements.
These responses were observed after male palpal drumming and the number of
the movements was highly variable, ranging from 2 to 61 (mean=16.6 24.96
SD). One female made body movements with two different males in series A
and C. Two more females performed this behaviour in series C and even one
of them made body movements with two different males. During series C one
female that performed body movements made three attempts of abrupt
emergence inside the burrow and the male quickly retreated.
136
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Discussion
Our results suggest the presence of seismic communication by substrate
during courtship in G. schulzei in agreement with findings of Quirici & Costa
(2005) in other theraphosids. Female leg tapping as response to some male
courtship seems to indicate her receptive condition and his attractiveness, as
was found for Acanthoscurria suina and Eupalaestrus weijenberghi (Pérez-
Miles et al. 2007, Quirici & Costa 2005). However, female leg tapping
response was only observed in series A in which males freely walked in the
terrarium and after extremely long courtships. We suggested that additionally
female response could orient male towards her location. This orientation could
serve at long distance because when males were very near the burrow, females
did not respond (series C). Considering that female response is obtained after
an insistent long male courtship, we interpret that such response could act in
extreme cases where males could not find her burrow or if is difficult for the
female to exit from the burrow. Also insistence of males could be a positive
honest signal of males with good condition to mate, and consequently selected
by females. These females responded with leg tapping to males which present
long courtships together with active searching (walking) for female’s location
(series A). This was not the case in series B and C with males confined.
Although these males confined courted, they did not receive female tapping
response. Summarizing females respond with leg tapping only to males which
court and walk. The female body movements are interpreted here as a rejection
considering male retreated after this female behaviour in series C. Body
movements seems to be different from the piston behaviour observed for E.
weijenberghi (Pérez-Miles et al. 2007), because in G. schulzei this behaviour
consisted in downward and upward body movements, have higher frequency,
and are probably originated by third pair of legs. Piston behaviour was
proposed as a ritualized rejection response, considering that after that male
immediately escaped (Pérez-Miles et al. 2007). Female body movements are a
signal that could help the male to save time and energy spent in courtship and
also to reduce the risk of attracting predators. For the female this rejection of
male contributes avoiding her distraction from other biological activities
(Pérez-Miles et al. 2007). We observed body movements of females
predominated in series C, where males were confined in the nearest possible
location to female burrow.
References
Barth F.G., Bleckmann H., Bohnenberger J. & Seyfarth E.A. 1988. Spiders of
the genus Cupiennius Simon 1891 (Araneae, Ctenidae). II. On the
vibratory environment of a wandering spider. Oecologia, 77:194-201.
Bertani R., Fukushima C.S., & Silva Júnior P.I. 2008. Mating behaviour of
Sickius longibulbi (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Ischnocolinae), a spider that
lacks spermathecae. Journal of Arachnology, 36: 331-335.
Ferretti N. & Ferrero A. 2008. Short Communication: Courtship and mating
behavior of Grammostola schulzei (Schmidt 1994) a burrowing tarantula
from Argentina. Journal of Arachnology, 36: 480-483.
137
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Pérez-Miles F., Postiglioni R., Montes de Oca L., Baruffaldi L. & Costa F.G.
2007. Mating system in the tarantula spider Eupalaestrus weijenberghi
(Thorell, 1894): Evidences of monandry and polygyny. Zoology, 110:
253-260.
Prentice T.R. 1992. A new species of North American tarantula, Aphonopelma
paloma (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae). Journal of
Arachnology, 20: 189-199.
Quirici V. & Costa F.G. 2005. Seismic communication during courtship in two
burrowing tarantula spiders: an experimental study on Eupalaestrus
weijenberghi and Acnathoscurria suina. Journal of Arachnology, 33: 159-166.
Quirici V. & Costa F.G. 2007. Seismic sexual signal design of two sympatric
burrowing tarantula spiders from meadows of Uruguay: Eupalaestrus
weijenberghi and Acanthoscurria suina (Araneae, Theraphosidae). Journal
of Arachnology, 35: 38-45.
Uetz G.W. & Stratton G.E. 1982. Acoustic communication and reproductive
isolation in spiders. In: Witt P.N. & Rovner J.S. (eds), Spider
Communication: Mechanisms and Ecological Significance. Princeton
University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, pp. 123-159.
138
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The Microstigmatidae are characterized by the rounded book-lungs
openings, in conjunction with extremely shortened posterior lateral spinnerets
(Goloboff 1995). This family comprises 15 species, nine of them distributed in
the New World (Platnick 2010). Microstigmatidae are ground-dwelling and free-
living spiders that appear to make minimal use of silk and could readily attack
and fed upon small insects (Griswold 1985). Some studies were done on
reproductive biology of Mygalomorphae (Coyle 1985, Coyle & O´Shields 1990,
Costa & Pérez-Miles 2002, Ferretti & Ferrero 2008, Yañez et al. 1999) but
sexual behaviour of Microstigmatidae is up to now unknown. Few records of
natural history and ecology were reported for the Old World microstigmatids
(Griswold 1985) and for a Brazilian species (Indicatti et al. 2008). Xenonemesia
platensis is the only microstigmatid species present in Argentina and only some
comments on their habitat have been provided (Goloboff 1988). In the present
study we describe the mating behaviour of X. platensis based on three successful
matings under laboratory conditions and give some notes on their burrows and
egg sacs.
139
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Results
Males initiated courtship when contacted with the female body. Females
remain passive. The courtship started with body vibrations originated by
contractions of the first and second pair of legs followed by fast upward and
downward movements of palps in a simultaneous phase. The frequency was
33.5±3.8 SD bouts/min and the mean duration was 0.54s±0.06 SD (n=25). Also
males made palpal boxing that consisted in alternating movements of the pedipalp
touching the genital zone of the female. The males performed 6.66±4.04 SD
bouts/min with a mean duration of 1.92s±0.95 SD (n=6). After contact, males
vigorously hit the first and second pair of legs of females with his second pair of legs
extended. This behaviour consisted in tapping at high frequency in an alternating or
synchronous phase; male tarsi contacted with the metatarsi of female. Males
performed 6±1.73 SD bouts/min with a mean duration of 0.96s±0.38 SD (n=7).
After tapping, the males clasped with first pair of legs between palps and chelicerae
of the female. The distal portion of each male tibia without tibial apophyses or
megaspines was against the prolateral surface of each female pedipalp base and then
begins palpal insertion attempts. The mean number of insertions was 8±6.2 SD and
their mean duration was 17.61s±18.11 SD (range =3-37.88). During insertions,
males continued courting the female by tapping with legs II and body vibrations.
Males then added a new courtship behaviour; they raised the second pair of legs
with an angle of 90° between femur and patella, and quickly moved legs upward and
downward. Male tibia, metatarsi and tarsi remain extended and the tarsi beat and
scrape the second and third coxae of female. This behaviour had a mean duration of
8.62s±5.85 SD and the velocity was 14 beats per second. During the palpal insertion
attempts the second pair of legs was pushing the first pair of legs of female and the
female’s pedicel was flexed upwards so that the cephalothorax-abdomen angle was
30-50°. The mean duration of copulation was 4.04 min ±1.13 SD. After copulation
females retreated into the burrows. In one case, the male followed courting her in
contact making body vibrations. We observed one female rejection that consisted in
vigorous lateral abdominal oscillations with body elevated. After that male escaped.
All individuals were found in a shore forest occupying short burrows with
little silk covering the walls and the entrance closed with silk and debris. In nature,
the silk tube entrance ranged from 0.8 to 9.5 mm diameter and its length 16.15 mm
±7.7 SD; the short burrow measured approximately 12 mm. The temperature inside
the burrows was 15°C and the environment temperature was 14°C. In laboratory
they constructed the same shelters as in nature but with more silk covering the walls.
Two egg-clutches were observed in the laboratory. One female made the egg sac on
23 November 2009 and the other on 16 December 2009. The eggs were
agglomerated in a sphere without a well developed silk cover. They measured 5 mm
width x 8.6 mm length containing 17 eggs and 6.7 mm width x 8.4 mm length. Both
females abandoned their egg sacs between 7 January 2010 and 25 January 2010.
Discussion
As far as we know, these are the first reports on sexual behaviour of a
Microstigmatidae. Some uncommon behaviours are remarkable. Differing from
140
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
most known mygalomorphs the male did not started courtship when contact
female silk but only after contact with female. Early studies proposed that
mygalomorph spiders lacked chemical cues in sexual communication (Baerg
1958, Platnick 1971); however, more recent studies reported the presence of
pheromone associated with silk threads of females (Costa & Pérez-Miles 2002,
Ferretti & Ferrero 2008). Our findings in X. platensis could reveal the absence of
pheromone associated to silk.
The body vibrations observed in the courtship of X. platensis could be
similar to those observed in some theraphosids (Costa & Pérez-Miles 2002,
Ferretti & Ferrero 2008) but in X. platensis the vibration is generated by first and
second pair of legs instead of pair III involved in theraphosids. Others
remarkable behaviours in X. platensis were the brusque movements of the palp
and the scraping with legs II during courtship that were not reported in any other
mygalomorph spider. The brusque movements of palps could be similar to the
“twitching” observed in a diplurid (Coyle & O´Shields 1990) which consisted in
separate sudden flexions or extensions of one or more legs or palps. The male
courtship in copula observed in X. platensis was not reported in mygalomorphs
(Costa & Pérez-Miles 1998, Costa & Pérez-Miles 2002, Ferretti & Ferrero 2008,
Jackson & Pollard 1990). It is possible that the female may be testing male’s
copulatory ability, monitoring his performance not only in genital stimulation, as
suggested by Eberhard (1985). This male behaviour could additionally inform
the female about his good quality and consequently could be interpretable as
other mechanism for seduction.
References
Baerg W.J. 1958. The Tarantula. University of Kansas Press, Lawerence,
Kansas, 88 pp.
Costa F.G. & Pérez-Miles F. 1998. Behavior, life cycle and webs of
Mecicobothrium thorelli (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Mecicobothriidae).
Journal of Arachnology, 26: 317-329.
Costa F.G. & Pérez-Miles F. 2002. Reproductive biology of Uruguayan
theraphosids (Araneae, Theraphosidae). Journal of Arachnology, 30: 571-587.
Coyle F.A. 1985. Observations on the mating behaviour of the tiny
mygalomorph spider, Microhexura montivaga Crosby & Bishop (Araneae,
Dipluridae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 6(8): 328-330.
Coyle F.A. & O’Shields T.C. 1990. Courtship and mating behavior of
Telochoris karschi (Araneae, Dipluridae), an African funnel web spider.
Journal of Arachnology, 18: 281-296.
Eberhard W.E . 1985. Sexual selection and animal genitalia. Harvard Univ.
Press, Harvard, Massachusetts.
Ferretti N. & Ferrero A. 2008. Short Communication: Courtship and mating
behavior of Grammostola schulzei (Schmidt 1994) a burrowing tarantula
from Argentina. Journal of Arachnology, 36: 480-483.
141
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
142
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
143
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
144
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
145
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
2
The research was supported by Grant Agency of the Czech Academy of Sciences
(project no. IAA601110808).
146
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
evolutionary dead end. On the other hand, these findings are in agreement with
recent findings about the evolutionary stability of sociality and the high genetic
divergence in social Stegodyphus species (Johanessen et al. 2007, Johannessen et
al. 2009). In contrast to other social species of the genus, no karyotype
differences have been found in populations of S. dumicola from Namibia and
South Africa. Males of all populations display 26 chromosomes including an
X1X20 system (Avilés et al. 1999; current study). Interestingly, we found the
same diploid count in a related subsocial species, S. tentoriicola. Finally,
subsocial S. lineatus differs remarkably in its karyotype (2n♂=43, X1X2X30)
from other Stegodyphus species particularly the additional male sex chromosome
and diploid number. The chromosome constitution of S. lineatus is similar to
that which we found in three burrowing South African eresids (Gandanameno
sp. 2n♂=38, X1X20, Paradonea sp. 2n♀=46, and Dresserus kannemeyeri
2n♂=40, X1X20). Thus, its placement in Stegodyphus should be revised. Based
on our data, we speculate about the basal position of S. lineatus in the family
Eresidae.
References
Avilés L., Varas C., Dyreson E. 1999. Does the African social spider
Stegodyphus dumicola control the sex of individual offspring?
Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 46: 237-243.
Bole-Gowda B.N. 1958. A study of the chromosomes during meiosis in twenty-
two species of Indian spiders. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of
Bengal, 11: 69-108.
Forman M., Král J., Musilová J., Lubin Y. 2007. Karyotype study of social
species of the spider genus Stegodyphus Simon, 1873 (Araneae: Eresidae).
In: Rocha R.P., (ed), 17th International Congress of Arachnology; São
Pedro, São Paulo, Brasil, p. 244.
Johannesen J., Lubin Y., Smith D.R., Bilde T., Schneider J.M. 2007. The age
and evolution of sociality in Stegodyphus spiders: a molecular
phylogenetic perspective. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological
Sciences, 274: 231-237.
Johannesen J., Wickler W., Seibt U., Moritz R. 2009. Population history in
social spiders repeated: colony structure and lineage evolution in
Stegodyphus mimosarum (Eresidae) Molecular Ecology, 18: 2812-2818.
Kraus O., Kraus M. 1988. The genus Stegodyphus (Arachnida: Araneae). Sibling
species, species groups and parallel origin of social living. Verhandlungen
des naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins Hamburg, 30: 151-254.
Mittal O.P. 1970. Karyological studies on the Indian spiders. IX. Chromosome
constitution in two cribellate species. Genetica, 41: 575-580.
Sharma G. P., Singh S. 1957. Cytological studies on the Indian spiders I.
Chromosome complement and male meiosis in Stegodyphus specificus.
Research Bulletin of Punjab University, 8: 389-393.
Sharma N., Parida B.B. 1987. Study of chromosomes in spiders from Orissa.
Pranikee, 8: 71-76.
147
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Like all other harvestmen, Cyphophthalmus duricorius possesses a
prosomal exocrine gland system, the so-called defence or scent glands which
emit repellent exudates against predators. In case of being mechanically irritated,
the harvestman discharges large, brownish droplets of secretion from the gland
openings. Subsequently, the opilionid dips its legs II into the secretion and
transfers it to the offender, a behaviour referred to as ‘leg dabbing’ (Juberthie
1961).
Chemical analysis of scent gland secretion of C. duricorius exhibited a
bouquet of at least 24 components belonging to the two chemical classes of
methylketones and naphthoquinones (Raspotnig et al. 2005). Some of the
constituents, especially chloronaphthoquinones, proved to be unique among
exocrine exudates of arthropods. Naphthoquinones and their numerous
derivatives have already been known as biologically active agents since the late
1940ies (Hoffmann-Ostenhof et al. 1947, Silver & Holmes 1967, Ambrogi et al.
1970). The first opilionid scent gland secretion experimentally applied to
different strains of bacteria and to protozoa in order to elucidate its antimicrobial
potential was that of the South American laniatorean Acanthopachylus
aculeatus. Estable et al. (1955) found that the secretion’s alkylated
benzoquinones were highly effective against gram+and gram- bacteria as well as
against different murine intestinal parasites.
In the study at hand, we investigated 1) the antimicrobial potency of the
Cyphophthalmus-secretion against various microorganisms, and 2) the capability
of C. duricorius to spontaneously release secretion as preventive measure
against microorganisms.
148
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
inhibition tests) and quantitatively by the fold broth dilution method determining
the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).
We tested the main compounds 1,4-naphthoquinone, 2-undecanone, and 2-
tridecanone which were purchasable at Sigma Aldrich. 4-chloro-1,2-
naphthoquinone was synthesised according to the protocol of Perumal & Bhatt
1980 and purified to a degree of 95%. Absolute ethanol served as a blank in the
antibiotic assays.
The test strains Escherichia coli J5 (Prof. Leisinger, Zurich),
Staphylococcus aureus ATTC 29067, Klebsiella pneumoniae DSM 681
Salmonella typhimurium TR 5655, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY
4741 EUROCAT were provided by the Institute of Molecular Biosciences Graz,
Austria. Furthermore, five bacterial strains were isolated from a soil sample,
taken from one of the habitats of C. duricorius. These strains were identified by
16S rRNA-sequencing as Acinetobacter sp., Bacillus cereus,
Enterobacter/Citrobacter sp., Microbacterium arborescens, and Staphylococcus
carnosus.
In order to study a possible stimulation of secretion release triggered by
the respective microorganisms, individuals of C. duricorius were placed on
inoculated agar plates (and pure agar plates as a reference) and were then
monitored hourly.
Results
Kirby-Bauer tests using substance concentrations far above the
physiological level showed that all of the gram-negative bacterial strains were
unsusceptible to the whole secretion and the two methylketones tested. In
contrast, both 1,4-naphthoquinone and 4-chloro-1,2-naphthoquinone lead to
distinct zones of inhibition. Quantitative tests were performed with gram-
positive bacteria and yeast: MIC of whole secretion constantly amounted for 2
mg/ml for bacteria, and 1 mg/ml for yeast. These concentrations correspond to
the total secretion volume of ten individuals of C. duricorius. MIC of
undecanone was 16 mg/ml for all bacteria and 8 mg/ml for yeast. MICs of the
two naphthoquinones ranged from 0,3 (yeast) to 1,2 mg/ml (St. aureus/St.
carnosus). However, none of the gram-positive bacterial strains or yeast reacted
to tridecanone. Ethanol blanks did not lead to growth inhibition.
Preliminary studies revealed that - following mechanical irritation - ‘leg
dabbing’ and distribution of secretion over the body surface of C. duricorius
were simultaneous events. Also exposure to bacteria and yeast resulted in
permanent coverage with a liquid film, indicating constant emission of secretion.
Discussion
Naphthoquinones are well known for their antimicrobial activity,
especially if nucleus and/or side chains are halogenated (Ambrogi et al. 1970).
They act as bacterial growth inhibitors by functioning competitively in electron
transport with endogenous ubiquinone (Silver & Holmes 1968). Thus, it was not
surprising that naphthoquinones play a major role in the antibiotic activity of the
gland secretion of C. duricorius. Contrary to our expectations, also
149
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Ambrogi V., Artini D., de Carneri I., Castellino S., Dradi E., Logemann W.,
Meinardi G., Di Somma M. & Tosolini G. 1970. Studies on the
antibacterial and antifungal properties of 1,4-naphthoquinones. British
Journal of Pharmacology, 40: 871-880.
Estable C., Ardao M.I., Brasil N.P. & Fieser L.F. 1955. Gonyleptidine. Journal
of the American Chemical Society, 77: 4942.
Hoffmann-Ostenhof O., Wertheimer P. & Gratzl K. 1947. Die Wirkung von
Chinonen auf das Hefewachstum. Experientia, 3: 327-328.
Juberthie C. 1961. Structure des glandes odorantes et modalités d’utilisation de
leur sécrétion chez deux opilions cyphophthalmes. Bulletin de la Société
Zoologique de France, 86: 106-116.
Perumal P.T. & Bhatt M.V. 1980. Oxidation of halophenols and highly
substituted phenols with lead (IV) acetate. Synthesis, 11: 943-945.
Raspotnig G., Fauler G., Leis M. & Leis H.-J. 2005. Chemical profiles of scent
gland secretion in the cyphophthalmid opilionid harvestmen, Siro
duricorius and S. exilis. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 31: 1353-1368.
Silver R.F. & Holmes H.L. 1968. Synthesis of some 1,4-naphthoquinones and
reactions relating to their use in the study of bacterial growth inhibition.
Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 46: 1859.
150
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Australia is arguably the driest continent on earth and its arid interior is
characterised by ephemeral salt lakes with a very specialized fauna, including
wolf spiders of the genus Tetralycosa (subfamily Artoriinae). The genus
contains a total of 13 species and a phylogenetic analysis identified a
monophyletic clade of eight species that live permanently on the surface of salt
lakes suggesting that this habitat of extreme environmental conditions was
invaded only once during the evolutionary history of the genus. Of the five
basal, non-salt lake inhabiting representatives, T. oraria exclusively inhabits
coastal beaches and sand dunes, whereas the other four species are found at
inland water bodies with generally high salt content, including mound springs of
the Great Artesian Basin in South Australia and samphire flats.
The salt lake inhabiting species survive their extreme environment
possible by constructing characteristic off-set burrows in the muddy bed of dry
lakes that usually extend down to the saline water table. A plug of mud often
seals the burrows. In summer, the spiders usually backfill the entire upper
burrow with mud acquired during the process of excavating a new upper
entrance in the opposite direction to that of the old. Humidity is maintained by
the presence of water at the bottom of the burrow. During particularly hot
weather burrow entrances are plugged which also offers some protection from
predators and presumably flooding.
151
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The Brazilian savannah, called “cerrado”, covers some 2 million km2 of
Central Brazil and includes various types of vegetation, a mix of woody and
herbaceous plants. After the Amazon Forest, it is the second biggest Brazilian
biome and has well-defined climate with strong dry winter (approximately May
to September). Fire is the most prevalent form of disturbance in the cerrado and
it is extremely important for this environment that has a long and varied history
of burning. This kind of abiotic disturbance would affect patterns of diversity.
The basic idea of the “intermediate disturbance hypothesis” of Connell is that
the highest diversity is maintained at intermediate levels of disturbance by
preventing competitively dominant species from excluding others.
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of frequency and season
of the prescribed burns on cursorial spiders. We used abundance, richness,
equitability, community composition and diversity as parameters to measure
these effects.
Statistical analysis
Sampling effort: rarefactions with the values of Mao Tau and the Jacknife 1,
with 1000 randomizations without replacement (Estimates).
Abundance: ANOVA (p<0.05) and the Tukey test to indicate which pairs are
different. The abundance values were transformed in logarithmic (log
(x+1)).
152
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Richness: Kruskal-Wallis for testing hypotheses for Mao Tau and Jacknife 1,
and Behrens Fisher as pos hoc.
Equitability: Pielou index with ANOVA (R-2.10.0, R Development Core Team).
Diversity: Profile of Rényi (Ha), MANOVA and discriminant analysis.
Similarity: Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (Bray-Curtis distance).
Results
The total sampling effort, considering the 95 samples, was adequate to
capture most species of the community since the asymptote was obtained by the
50th sample as indicated by the rarefaction curve of Mao Tau. We collected
4.315 individuals (2.413 males, 637 females and 1.265 juveniles) were
Lycosidae (2.048 specimens) represents 47.5% of total abundance. We collected
50 species of 26 families and the most abundant species were Alopecosa sp. 2
(431 individuals), Leprolochus cf. birabeni (236), Trochosa sp. (183), Ctenidae
sp. 1 (147), Lycosidae sp. 11 (103), Actinopus sp. 1 (85) and Hogma gumia (67).
The control area, with 1457 individuals, was the most abundant, followed
by EB (879), MB (812), MQ (634) and LB (573). The treatments were
significantly different in relation to abundance (F4,90: 2.6; p < 0.05) and the
control plot has higher abundance compared to LB.
The plots have similar richness (EB, 44; MQ, 43; MB, 39; LB, 36; CT, 36;
F4,90: 0.19, p=0.94). The treatments were significantly different based on the
Jacknife 1 (Kruskal Wallis - H: 18.73; fd: 4; p<0.01) indicating that the plots EB
and MQ have more estimated species number than CT and LB (p<0.05).
The control plot presents the smallest equitability differing from all
biennial fire regimes (EB, MB e LB) (Pielou, F4,90: 5.4; p<0.001). The Rényi’s
equitability indicated LB and MB with more homogeneous distribution,
followed by EB and MQ with identical values and, like Pielou index, CT has
more dominance, that is, smaller equitability.
The diversity index (Rényi) among the treatments are significantly
different (α=2; F4,82: 2.94 ; p=0.02). The treatments LB, MB e MQ show more
diversity than the control area (p<0.05). There is a tendency to more diversity in
EB in comparison to control (p=0.06).
There are differences among the treatments in relation to species
composition (MANOVA – Pillai’s trace 2.55; p<0.01) and the first two principal
axes explain 80% of total variation. The control area is characterized by more
abundance of the three most representative species in first canonical axis
(Alopecosa sp. 2, Actinopus sp. 1 and Lycosa sp. 3). The LB area, on the other
hand, has the Hogna sp. 1, Cybaeodamus sp. 1 and Xeropigo sp. as the most
important species in explaining the second axis.
The hierarchical cluster analysis indicated the composition of the soil
spiders in two distinct groups (Mantel r=0.97, p<0.01), one containing the area
preserved from fire, and the other areas subjected to different regimes of
burning. Regarding the second group, there was the separation of LB area and
high similarity between EB with MB and MQ, the last two being very similar in
species composition.
153
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Conclusions
There was no significant difference between the abundances of different
burning regimes (EB, MB, LB and MQ). However, there was significant
reduction of this parameter in the LB compared to CT. This suggests that the
time of burning may be more influential than the frequency on the reduction of
abundance.
Burning supports increasing the richness and evenness, with the largest
number of species of cursorial spiders in areas with burning at the beginning and
the middle of the dry season (EB and MQ) and without a clear differentiation
between the regimes of fire for evenness, although there is a trend to more
homogeneous distributions in areas with burning in the middle or the end of the
dry season.
There is no support to the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis for firing
frequency, since the intermediate area of burning (every four years), despite
showing a higher value of diversity in relation to the control area, does not differ
from the modal biennial area (MB).
Similarly, the frequency does not corroborate the Intermediate
Disturbance Hypothesis based on season of burning, since the area with burning
in the middle of the dry season (MB) did not have more diversity compared to
other treatments (EB and LB).
We found a greater similarity between the areas with different burning
regimes than between them and the control area. The high similarity between the
MB and MQ areas is indicative that compared to the frequency, timing of
burning has more influence on the cursorial spiders. Knowing that moisture loss
from the fuel available for combustion occurs throughout the dry season, it is
expected that burns in the same season promote similar effects on the vegetation
which indirectly influences the spiders similarity, as observed in this study.
154
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
155
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Parasitengona constitute one of the most numerous and the most diverse
group of mites. At a rough estimate there are at least 9000 described (nominal)
species that represent more than 800 genera, 60 families, and 15 superfamilies.
More than half of them, i.e. circa 5000 species, belong to Parasitengona aquatica
(= Hydracarina, Hydrachnellae, or Hydrachnidia), the "water mites". The
remaining taxa belong to Parasitengona terrestria (= Trombidia), the "velvet
mites". Unquestionably, the chigger mites - Trombiculidae (comprising
Trombiculinae and Leeuwenhoekiinae) are the most abundant within
Parasitengona terrestria. Trombiculinae consist of more than 3000 species of 221
genera, whereas Leeuwenhoekiinae comprise 212 species of 35 genera. The
remaining several hundred species are the so called "non-chiggers terrestrial
Parasitengona". The life cycle of Trombidia consists of seven stages, including
three active ones: adult, deutonymph, and larva. The egg, prelarva, protonymph,
and tritonymph are inactive calyptostadia. The active postlarval instars of
Parasitengona terrestria are predatory and they feed on insect eggs, larvae, and
pupae as well as on other small arthropods. The majority of heteromorphic
larvae (excl. Calyptostomatidae) are parasites on invertebrates. The identified
host species belong to Coleoptera, Diptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera,
Trichoptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera, Thysanoptera, Dermaptera,
Isoptera, Psocoptera, Mecoptera, Odonata, Blattodea, Collembola,
Microcoryphia, Thysanura, Chilopoda, Diplopoda, Solifugae, Pseudoscorpiones,
Araneae, Acari, and Opiliones.
In the present work, an attempt to collect and systematize all data on
Parasitengona terrestria parasitizing Opiliones has been made. The literature data
was supplemented with new records of parasitic relationships, parasitic taxa, and
host species from various zoogeographical regions.
156
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
3
The research was supported by the financial mechanism of EEA, project No. 2008-03-
09 “Development scenarios of representative landscape ecosystems in the Slovak
Republic considering global changes“.
157
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
biotopes. The reason for it is the real risk that in near future, due to abandonment
of these structures, following succession of forest and urban pressure, decline or
even irreversible loss of biodiversity linked to such specific biotopes will be the
result.
158
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
gaojiexyyt@163.com, tulh@ioz.ac.cn
159
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
160
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Dr. Stano Pekár for his valuable comments on
the manuscript and help with literature.
References
Debski B. 1923. Quelques observations sur les moeurs de l’Oecobius templi
Cambridge 1876, retrouvé á Helouan (Arachnida). Bulletin de la Société
Entomologique D'égypte, 1922: 121-126.
Glatz L. 1967. Zur biologie und morphologie von Oecobius annulipes (Araneae:
Oecobiidae). Zoomorphology, 64: 185-214.
Johnson N.F. & Triplehorn C.A. 2004. Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the
Study of Insects. Brooks Cole Ed., 864 pp.
Miyashita K. 1992. Life cycle of Oecobius annulipes (Araneae: Oecobiidae)
under indoor conditions and the effect of photoperiod on nymphal
development. Acta Arachnologica, 41: 5-10.
Pekár S. 2004. Predatory behavior of two European ant-eating spiders (Araneae,
Zodariidae). Journal of Arachnology, 32: 31-41.
Pekár S. & Lubin Y.D. 2009. Prey and predatory behavior of two zodariid
species (Araneae, Zodariidae). Journal of Arachnology, 37: 118-121.
Pekár S., Král J & Lubin Y.D. 2005. Natural history and karyotype of some ant-
eating zodariid spiders (Araneae, Zodariidae) from Israel. Journal of
Arachnology, 33: 50-62.
Pekár S., Toft S., Hrusková M., & Mayntz D. 2008. Dietary and prey-capture
adaptations by which Zodarion germanicum, an anteating spider (Araneae:
Zodariidae), specialises on the Formicinae. Naturwissenschaften, 95: 233-
239.
Santos A. & Gonzaga M.O. 2003. On the spider genus Oecobius Lucas, 1846 in
South America (Araneae, Oecobiidae). Journal of Natural History, 37:
239-252.
Voss S.C., Main B.Y. & Dadour I.R. 2007. Habitat preferences of the urban wall
spider Oecobius navus. Australian Journal of Entomology, 46: 261-268.
161
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Joanna Gardzińska
The genus Thorelliola is known from Malaysia, New Guinea and some
Pacific Islands. It was hitherto considered remarkably homogenous and
distinctive due to the body shape, structure of genitalia and male clypeal
mechanoreceptive setae modified in different ways.
In a new species from New Guinea the clypeal configuration doesn’t
correspond with recent definition of Thorelliola. The males are distinctive by the
possession of clypeal fringe of lanceolate pallid hairs below AMEs and
extravagant anterolateral rows of cheliceral spines, unknown in the genus so far.
The females may be recognized by clypeal hairs and details of epigyne,
including position of copulatory openings and course of insemination ducts.
New criteria for the genus are proposed and the new species is diagnosed,
described and illustrated.
162
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Sit-and-wait predators do not actively hunt for their prey. For that reason
strategies that increase their probability of encountering prey are expected to
evolve. Such strategies include the building of traps, selection of profitable
patches and displaying cryptic colouration to avoid detection. In addition, many
sit-and-wait predators employ tactics that actively attract their prey. For
instance, several crab spiders (Thomisidae) that ambush prey on flowers are UV-
reflective, creating a colour contrast against the flowers that is attractive for
pollinators. These spiders are also known by their ability of changing colour,
including the UV component, over a few days. Therefore in this system spiders
that invest in a strategy of high UV reflectance are expected to capture more
prey and consequently increase their weight. Here we investigated the variation
of colouration in the spider Thomisus spectabilis (Thomisidae) during two
seasons and analysed the correlation between spider colouration and spider body
condition. Secondly, we examined the mechanism of colour variation in this
species, with emphasis in the UV component, using a series of histological and
spectrophotometric analyses. Our results showed strong variation in the UV
component, but not in other wavelengths. Also, the results suggest that high UV
reflectance has a benefit for spiders. In the year that spiders were on average
highly UV reflective there was a positive correlation between spider UV and
body condition, but not in the year when spiders were low UV. The histological
analyses suggest that high UV colouration is achieved by exposing UV-
reflective guanine crystals, present in storage cells bellow the epithelium,
through an UV-transmitting epidermis and cuticle. White non-UV and yellow
colouration are achieved by the presence of ommochrome pigments in different
stages within the epithelial cells, covering the UV-reflective guanine crystals. It
is not clear why spiders do not always invest in a strategy of high UV
reflectance, but we suggest that spiders are adjusting their colouration in
response to the presence of predators and/or quantity of different types of prey.
163
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
164
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
165
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Valery A. Gnelitsa
166
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Soleglad M.E. & Fet V. 2008. Contributions to Scorpion Systematics. III.
Subfamilies Smeringurinae and Syntropinae (Scorpions: Vaejovidae).
Euscorpius, 71: 1-115.
167
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
168
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
169
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
170
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
171
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
172
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
173
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Charles R. Haddad
4
Research supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa through its
Thuthuka programme (grant number TTK2008050500003).
174
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
(syntype male) (contra Bosselaers & Jocqué 2000). A new genus is created to
accommodate the misplaced male, its matching female is described, and the
correct matching male of M. martini is described. Copa lacustris Strand, 1916
and Castianeira kibonotensis Lessert, 1921 are transferred to the new genus, and
more than ten new species are described from southern, central and eastern
Africa. In contrast to Copa, the new genus has apparently not colonised
Madagascar (but does occur in the Comoros Islands, possibly introduced) and
radiation seems to be related to two main geological events: the formation of the
Great Rift Valley in east Africa (particularly leading to speciation in the Eastern
Arc Mountains of Tanzania), and the formation of the Maputaland coastal plain
in eastern South Africa and Mozambique.
The diagnostic characteristics of cryptic Afrotropical castianeirines are
discussed, as well as future directions for taxonomic research on the group.
References
Bosselaers J. & Jocqué R. 2000. Studies in Corinnidae: transfer of four genera
and description of the female of Lessertina mutica Lawrence 1942.
Tropical Zoology, 13: 305-325.
Deeleman-Reinhold C.L. 2001. Forest spiders of South East Asia: with a
revision of the sac and ground spiders (Araneae: Clubionidae, Corinnidae,
Liocranidae, Gnaphosidae, Prodidomidae and Trochanterriidae [sic]).
Brill, Leiden, 591 pp.
Haddad C.R. & Bosselaers J. 2010. A revision of the genus Medmassa Simon, 1887
(Araneae: Corinnidae) in the Afrotropical Region. Zootaxa, 2361: 1-12.
Marusik Y.M., Zheng G. & Li S. 2008. First description of the female of
Echinax panache Deeleman-Reinhold, 2001 (Aranei: Corinnidae:
Castianeirinae). Arthropoda Selecta, 17: 65-68.
175
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
176
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
177
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
178
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Mark S. Harvey
179
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
180
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Eberhard W.G. 1990. Function and phylogeny of spider webs. Annual Review of
Ecology and Systematics, 21: 341-372.
Harvey M.S., Austin A.D. & Adams M. 2007. The systematics and biology of
the spider genus Nephila (Araneae: Nephilidae) in the Australasian region.
Invertebrate Systematics, 21: 407-451.
181
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Landolfa M.A. & Barth F.G. 1996. Vibrations in the orb web of the spider
Nephila clavipes: cues for discrimination and orientation. Journal of
Comparative Physiology, 179: 493-508.
Liao C.-P., Chi K.-J. & Tso I.-M. 2009. The effects of wind on trap structural
and material properties of a sit-and-wait predator. Behavioural Ecology,
20: 1194-1203.
Lin L.H., Edmonds D.T. & Vollrath F. 1995. Structural engineering of an orb-
spider's web. Nature, 373: 146-148.
182
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
183
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Moulting is a common phenomenon necessary for arthropod development
and progresses with complicated sequential regulation. The mechanisms of
moulting are well-understood in insects and steroid hormone ecdysteroids are
one of the main hormones that regulate moulting in arthropods. Ecdysteroids are
secreted into the hemolymph from a synthesizing organ and interact with target
organs to prepare them for ecdysis. Active ecdysteroid is 20-hydroxyecdysone
(20E) and changes in 20E hormone titers of the hemolymph induce moulting.
Moulting consists of three phases: intermoulting, ecdysis and post ecdysis.
During the intermoulting phase, ecdysteroid titers are relatively low and
gradually increase until the next phase, ecdysis (Chapman 1998). Increases in
ecdysteroid titers induce various events necessary for moulting such as
construction of new cuticle. Ecdysteroid titers peak at moulting and immediately
decrease after ecdysis. The patterns of ecdysteroid changes differ depending on
the insect species, but changes in ecdysteroid titers are commonly important for
insect moulting.
Studies on ecdysteroids in spiders are limited to a few studies during the
1970s. Injection of 20E induced moulting of Araneus cornutus and Dugesiella
hentzi (Krishnakumaran & Schneiderman 1968, 1970). A. cornutus spiders
treated with 20E moulted 29 days after treatment and the number of moulted
spiders was fivefold higher in 20E treated spiders than ringer injected controls
(Krishnakumaran & Schneiderman 1970). However, ecdysis was abnormal and
mortality increased with injection of ecdysteroids. In addition, spiders ceased
feeding and spun a moulting pad instead of a normal orb web. In a later study by
Bonaric (1976) injection of high concentrations of 20E induced a high incidence
of moulting (81%) whereas low concentrations induced a lower incidence of
moulting (60%) in Pisaura mirabilis. However, the high doses of 20E injection
induced abnormal ecdysis with no apolysis and high mortality. The timing of
injection is another important factor. Injection of 20E into P. mirabilis during
the early stages of the 7-9th instar nymphs showed low concentrations of
ecdysteroids induce a prolonged instar, whereas injection into spiders during the
middle stages induced premature moulting (Bomaric 1976). Based on these early
studies, 20E induces spider moulting and also affects behavioural changes and
these effects are dose and time dependent. Subsequently, Bonaric and De Reggi
(1977) measured the ecdysteroid titers in 8th instar nymphs of P. mirabilis. The
8th nymphal stage lasted for 22 days and the 20E titers remained at low levels
during the intermoulting phase. However, the 20E titers rapidly peaked just
184
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
before ecdysis. A rapid large peak of 20E titers just before ecdysis is similar to
that seen in numerous other arthropods. In addition, Trabalon et al. (1998, 2005)
have shown that hormonal regulation is also related to secretion of pheromones,
sexual behaviour and cannibalism in T. atrica.
Understanding of the mechanisms regulating moulting in insects has
progressed in recent years through studies on ecdysteroid function at the
molecular level. These studies have established that ecdysteroids require two
nuclear receptors, the ecdysteroid receptor (EcR) and retinoid X receptor (RXR
a homologue of insect ultraspiracle) to function (Yao et al. 1992, 1993; Thomae
et al. 1993). EcR and RXR form a heterodimer and the heterodimer binds
ecdysteroids (E) to form a functional complex (E/EcR/RXR) for the induction of
transcription in target genes. E/EcR/RXR binds to the gene regulatory region,
ecdysone response element (EcRE), of the target gene to trigger gene
transcription. In addition, specific target genes called ecdysone early genes are
induced following transactivation to further regulate responses to the
E/EcR/RXR complex. The E75 gene is one ecdysone early gene that is important
in the regulation of cuticle formation (Hiruma & Riddiford 2009). Therefore,
ecdysteroid dependent regulation of moulting requires ecdysone, EcR, RXR and
early genes. Ecdysteroid dependent ecdysis is common in arthropods and
identification of EcR, RXR and early genes are reported from numerous other
arthropods (Nakagawa & Henrich 2009). In Chelicerata, EcR and RXR have
been identified from ticks (Guo et al. 1997, 1998; Horigane et al. 2007, 2008)
and scorpions (Nakagawa et al. 2007). These EcRs and RXRs from the
chelicerates show similar affinities to ecdysteroid and transcriptional activity in
insects (Guo et al. 1998, Nakagawa et. al. 2007). These results indicate ecdysis
of chelicerates is also regulated by E/EcR/RXR and early genes. However,
identification and functional analysis of ecdysteroids, EcR, RXR and early genes
have not been done in any spider. To understand spider moulting, clarification of
the regulation of ecdysis by ecdysteroids, EcR and RXR are essential. In
addition, this will contribute to understanding the hormonal regulation of other
physiological processes and behaviours such as pheromone secretion, and
feeding, web spinning and sexual behaviours of spiders. Therefore, in this study
we identified and analyzed EcR, RXR and E75 from the spider Agelena
silvatica.
185
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
chain reactions (PCR). Actin from A. silvatica also determined in this study was
used as an internal control.
References
Bonaric J.C. & De Reggi M. 1977. Changes in ecdysone levels in the spider Pisaura
mirabilis nymphs (Araneae, Pisauridae). Experientia, 33: 1664-1665.
Bonaric J.C. 1976. Effects of Ecdysterone on the Moulting Mechanisms and
Duration of the Intermolt Period in Pisaura mirabilis Cl. General and
Comparative Endocrinology, 30: 267-272.
Chapman R.F. 1998. The Insects: Structure and Function, 4th ed. Cambridge
University Press, Melbourne, pp. 363-412.
186
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Guo X., Harmon M.A., Laudet V., Mangelsdorf D.J. & Palmer M.J. 1997.
Isolation of a functional ecdysteroid receptor homologue from the ixodid
tick Amblyomma americanum (L.). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, 11: 945-962.
Guo X., Xu Q., Harmon M.A., Jin X., Laudet V. & Mangelsdorf D.J. 1998.
Isolation of two functional retinoid X receptor subtypes from the Ixodid
tick, Amblyomma americanum (L.). Molecular and Cellular
Endocrinology, 139: 45-60.
Hiruma K. & Riddiford L.M. 2009. The molecular mechanisms of cuticular
melanization: the ecdysone cascade leading to dopa decarboxylase
expression in Manduca sexta. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
39: 245-253.
Horigane M., Ogihara K., Nakajima Y. & Taylor D. 2008. Isolation and
expression of the retinoid X receptor from last instar nymphs and adult
females of the soft tick Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae). General
and Comparative Endocrinology, 156: 298-311.
Horigane M., Ogihara K., Nakajima Y., Shinoda T. & Taylor D. 2007. Cloning
and expression of the ecdysteroid receptor during ecdysis and reproduction
in females of the soft tick, Ornithodoros moubata (Acari: Argasidae).
Insect Molecular Biology, 16: 601-612.
Krishnakumaran A. & Schneiderman H.A. 1968. Chemical Control of Moulting
in Arthropods. Nature, 220: 601-603.
Krishnakumaran A., & Schneiderman H.A.1970. Control of molting in
mandibulate and chelicerate arthropods by ecdysones. The Biological
Bulletin, 139: 520-538.
Nakagawa Y., Henrich V.C. 2009. Arthropod nuclear receptors and their role in
molting. The FEBS Journal, 276: 6128-6157.
Nakagawa Y., Sakai A., Magata F., Ogura T., Miyashita M., Miyagawa H. 2007.
Molecular cloning of the ecdysone receptor and the retinoid X receptor from
the scorpion Liocheles australasiae. The FEBS Journal, 274: 6191-6203.
Thomas H.E, Stunnenberg H.G. & Stewart A.F. 1993. Heterodimerization of the
Drosophila ecdysone receptor with retinoid X receptor and ultraspiracle.
Nature, 362: 471-475.
Trabalon M., Niogret J. & Legrand-Frossi C. 2005. Effect of 20-
hydroxyecdysone on cannibalism, sexual behavior, and contact sex
pheromone in the solitary female spider, Tegenaria atrica. General and
Comparative Endocrinology, 144: 60-66.
Trabalon M., Pourié G. & Hartmann N. 1998. Relationships among cannibalism,
contact signals, ovarian development and ecdysteroid levels in Tegenaria
atrica (Araneae, Agelenidae). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
28: 751-758.
187
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Yao T.P., Forman B.M., Jiang Z., Cherbas L., Chen J.D., McKeown M.,
Cherbas P. & Evans R.M.1993. Functional ecdysone receptor is the
product of EcR and Ultraspiracle genes. Nature: 366, 476-479.
Yao T.P., Segraves W.A., Oro A.O., McKeown M. & Evans R.M. 1992.
Drosophila ultraspiracle modulates ecdysone receptor function via
heterodimer formation. Cell, 71: 63-72.
188
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The spider family Pimoidae comprises four genera and thirty seven extant
species. Members of this relictual lineage are known from Western North
America, Southern Europe and Asia (the Himalayas, China, Japan and the
Sakhalin islands). Six fossil species of pimoids have been described from Baltic
amber. We will present recent progress towards a phylogeny of Pimoidae based
on morphological and nucleotide sequence data.
189
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Chueh Hou
190
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
191
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
(rho=0.65) and grass height (rho=0.64). Results from this study indicate there
can be great variation in response to fire; spider assemblages in upland grassland
habitats being less resilient to fire than those in lowland grassland habitats and
this has implications for the scale at which current fire management is
implemented. In the study we also found species strongly associated with
particular fire regime and rarefied species richness was higher at single fire sites,
represented high diversity compared to unburnt sites. This study highlights the
importance of considering habitat types and sensitivity to fire when burning for
biodiversity conservation, and cautions against applying prescribed fire in a
‘blanket-fashion’ across the conservation area. Adaptive management of
appropriate fire prescription should be taken account to provide wide range of
microhabitats that support a large proportion of species and to meet conservation
efforts for these grassland spider assemblages.
192
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
193
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
194
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
observed in the whole open grassland (136). Considering only the captures of the
two-week spring periods (over 6 years) 92 species (79% of all observed) were
observed and 118 estimated (102%). Considering only two spring periods 57%
of the overall observed species were captured and 72% estimated. Considering
samples of three two-week-periods from 2 consecutive years resulted in an
estimate of 91% of the observed species. Sampling one year during the whole
vegetation period from early June to end of September resulted in 96 species
(83%) and an estimate of 147 species (108% of all species observed in open land
and 127% of all species observed in all permanent plots).
195
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The neutral theory and niche theory are still controversial and offer useful
perspectives regarding fundamental questions of ecology. However, we lack
even a basic understanding and universal model of how the community
organizations change within temporal and spatial resolution, even though this
information is vital for suggesting that equilibrium or non-equilibrium process
control biodiversity. Here we use null model to test whether arboreal spider
species in the European beech canopy have competitive interactions, while
controlling for temperature (seasons) and micro-environmental (canopy strata)
variables. We have also listed the co-occurrence species which have high niche
overlaps. These arboreal spider communities are assembled deterministically in
the cold season and stochastically in the warm season. The vertical stratification
of species composition between high canopies and low canopies occur only in
the warm season, however, they are competitive and do not demonstrate niche
segregation within these canopies. Using this data, we show that both
equilibrium and non-equilibrium patterns control the biodiversity in the
temperate forest and shape the arboreal spider communities which support the
predictions of the continuum hypothesis, which combine both neutral theory and
niche theory.
196
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
197
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
198
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
199
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Allgemeine & Spezielle Zoologie, Institut für Biowissenschaften, Universität Rostock, Germany,
kati.huckstorf@gmx.de, christian.wirkner@web.de)
200
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
5
The study supported by grants IGA-AF-MZLU-SP2100101/224 and VaV-MZP-CR-
SP/2D4/59/07.
201
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The presentation shows the results of five years of work dedicated to the
Subterranean Arachnids of the Western Italian Alps. The work, that has just been
published by the Natural Museum of Torino (NW-Italy), is based on unpublished
material collected by Enrico Lana and Marco Isaia throughout an intense field work
from 2005 to 2010, on literature records and on the complete revision of the material
cited in the previous regional catalogue of the cave-dwelling spiders of Piemonte.
The work is the outcome of a fruitful collaboration of several European
arachnologists, who identified different arachnid groups. A special mention to Axel
L. Schönhofer (Germany) and Erhard Christian (Austria) for their contributions on
harvestmen and palpigrades, respectively.
Scorpions and mites have not been considered. The exclusion of scorpions is
justified by the trogloxenic life of the few species recorded in the studied area.
Concerning mites, records of an extremely specialized species of Troglocheles
(Prostigmata: Rhagidiidae) will be published separately.
The work covers 366 subterranean cavities, most of them located in province
of Cuneo (166), followed by Torino (69), Biella (38), Vercelli (30), Aosta (22),
Novara (21), Verbania (15), and Alessandria (5). We present 104 species (74
spiders, 14 harvestmen, 2 palpigrades, and 14 pseudoscorpions). Twelve (4 spiders,
2 palpigrades, and 6 pseudoscorpions) are considered as troglobiont on the basis of
obvious troglomorphy, 28 as troglophilic (20 spiders, 6 harvestmen, and 2
pseudoscorpions). For each species identification aids are provided, including
several illustrations of diagnostic features (original drawings), in situ photographs,
maps of the hypogean localities in the Western Italian Alps, large-scale distribution
and considerations from the ecological and faunistic points of view.
Spiders represent the major order of arachnids recorded in the study area, with
Meta menardi and Metellina merianae being the most abundant, followed by
Nesticus eremita, Malthonica silvestris, Pimoa rupicola and Troglohyphantes
lucifuga. The latter two are endemic to the southern and northern sectors of the
Western Alps respectively. Most remarkable are the troglobiont species of the genus
Troglohyphantes (T. konradi, T. pedemontanus, T. lanai) that also show, together
with the troglophilic T. bornensis, T. nigraerosae and T. pluto, the most restricted
distributions. Another interesting species is the troglobiont Nesticus morisii, only
known from the type locality in the Maritime Alps. Meta bourneti, a troglophilic and
markedly thermophilous species of Turanic-European-Mediterranean corotype, is
confined, in NW Italy, to one cave in the province of Cuneo and a few caves in Susa
Valley (province of Torino).
202
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
203
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
204
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Astride across the equator, with almost perfectly parallel vegetation zones
in the north and a mosaic in its southern part, Africa is the dreamt continent to
study distribution patterns. Although the inventory of arachnids is far from
complete and in certain areas hardly begun, for certain taxa the amount of
information is sufficient to infer a reasonably good picture of the distribution
and its origin. Thanks to recently developed GIS technology, it is now possible
to predict distributions on the base of a restricted number of locality data. Yet,
the rapid decline of natural habitats and the global climatic changes are bound to
alter the baseline and the meaning of a concept like endemicity, for those groups
that so far have only been collected occasionally. Litter dwelling
Cyphophthalmi, canopy living spiders and cryptic soil spiders are examples of
such animal groups.
On the base of reasonably well collected taxa several distribution patterns
can be recognized although the continental dynamics on a geological time scale
highly complicate the historical reconstruction of present day distributions.
Typical distributions are those from the West Equatorial lowlands, often
with relatives in the Neotropics, and the eastern African elements often with
congenerics in South East Asia. Some ancestral taxa from southern Africa,
considered as typical Gondwanan distributions are known to have close, often
congeneric relatives, on the southern tips of other continents. These taxa should
be qualified as Afro-temperate elements. The combination of Afrotropical and
Afrotemperate faunas has lead to the idea of the pear-shaped distribution of
biodiversity on the African continent, which has come about as a result of
mixture of both elements in Afromontane areas. For some rare taxa it is possible
to demonstrate the importance of refuge areas in periods of drought. Similar
information can serve to elucidate the origin of forest faunas in East and West
Africa.
Surprisingly, only few examples of transverse distributions along parallel
vegetation zones across the northern part of the continent are known and may be
symptomatic of the climatic changes in recent geological times.
205
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
206
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
207
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Maldives is a small archipelago supporting a rich biodiversity of
invertebrates. Although many reports were made on the terrestrial and aquatic
animals, the spider fauna of the archipelago is poorly investigated, with only one
paper (Pocock 1904), listing 19 species.
Because of its proximity to several lands masses such as India, Seychelles,
Australia and Madagascar, the fauna shows unique features. The aim of the
present paper is to provide a preliminary spider check-list and to form a basis for
further investigations.
Study area
The Maldives make a chain of 26 coral atolls, 80-120 km wide and 860
km long (7°6'35"N-0°42'24"S, 72°33'19"E-73°46'13"E), located on the 1600 km
long Laccadives-Chagos submarine ridge extending from the south-west coast of
the Indian sub-continent to the central Indian Ocean. It is believed that the
Maldives were formed about 65-225 million years ago in the Mesozoic Era
(Maniku 1990). The atolls comprise 1192 islands (from 0.5 km2 to around 5.0
km2) varying in location, topography, form and shape (from small sandbanks
with sparse vegetation to elongated strip islands). The maximum height is
around 3 meters, while some 80% of the land area is less than 1 meter above
mean high tide level (MHAHE 1999). Out of the 1192 islands, 199 are inhabited
and 87 have been developed as tourist resorts. The largest island is Gan (1°55'N,
73°32'5''E) in Laamu Atoll, with an area 5.16 km2 and most of the present study
was conducted in this island during the period January 2007 - November 2008.
The relative humidity ranges from 73% to 85%. Daily temperatures vary little
208
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
throughout the year with a mean annual temperature of 28°C. Average annual
rainfall varies from 1,407 mm to 2,707 mm between different atolls.
Results
Family diversity: 16 families are recorded from Maldives during the
study. Families like Araneidae (12 species), Salticidae (10 species),
Tetragnathidae (7 species) and Sparassidae (7 species) exhibit highest species
diversity. Theridiidae (2 species), Pholicidae (2 species) are also widely present
in the islands. Families like Barychelidae, Hersilidae, Desidae, Scytodidae,
Thomisidae and Uloboridae are represented by one species only.
Generic diversity: 34 genera are found in 16 families. Maximum generic
diversity is found in families like Araneidae (7), Salticidae (5), Tetragnathidae
(2), Pholcidae (2) and Sparassidae (2). Most genera discovered show affinities
with oriental region and are widely present in the Indian mainland. Genera like
Cyclosa, Cyrtophora (Araneidae), Hersilia (Hersiliidae), Pardosa (Lycosidae),
Artema, Crossopriza (Pholcidae), Bavia, Myrmarachne, Plexippus (Salticidae,
Tylorida (Tetragnathidae) are first records from Maldives.
Species diversity: 54 species are collected from Maldives during the
study. Genera like Neoscona (6), Tetragnatha (5), Oxyopes (3), Heteropoda (3),
Olios (3) shows highest diversity of species in the collection.
New records: The most striking feature of the spider fauna of Maldives
islands is the high number of new records. About 30 species recorded during the
study are new records to Maldives. Araneidae and Salticidae exhibit highest
number of new records. Similarly 10 genera recorded during the study are also
new to Maldives.
Functional groups: The collected spiders can be divided into six
functional groups (guilds) based on their foraging behaviour in the field (Uetz et
al. 1999). The dominant guild was of the orb web builders and it comprised of
20 species of spiders. Spiders of the families Araneidae, Tetragnathidae and
Uloboridae fall under this category. Spiders of the category Stalkers formed the
next dominant guild comprising of 13 species of spiders. Ground runners (10
species), scattered line weavers (4 species), ambushers (3 species) and Foliage
runners (1 species) are the other functional groups.
Endemism: A total of 50 species are discovered from Maldives so far.
Among the collection Heteropoda atollicola is endemic to Maldives. Desis
gardineri, and Tetragnatha foveata are also restricted to Laccadive and
Srilankan region.
Affinities: The present studies conducted in Maldives revealed that the
spider fauna of this ecosystem bears affinities with Oriental (21 spp), Australian
(3 spp.), Palaearctic (4 spp.) and Nearctic (1 sp.) regions. High number of Indian
species suggests the arrival of majority of spiders here from the neighbouring
Indian mainland.
Zoogeographic analysis: About 29 species recorded in Maldives are
widely distributed in South Asia; a few of these are found only in the Indo-
Srilankan region. Most of the widely distributed species in south Asia belong to
Araneidae (11 species) and Salticidae (6). Because of bright colouration and
209
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
large orb webs, spiders of the above mentioned families were easily observed.
Species like Crossopriza lyoni (Blackwall, 1867); Plexippus paykulli (Audouin,
1826) are cosmopolitan in distribution; whereas species like Artema atlanta
Walckenaer, 1837; Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789); Heteropoda venatoria
(Linnaeus, 1767) are pantropical in distribution.
Discussion
The spider fauna of Maldives is not rich compared with many other
tropical islands. Around 1447 species are reported from the neighbouring Indian
mainland and around 354 species are reported from Sri Lanka (Siliwal 2007).
The lack of high species diversity can be attributed to the limited diversity of
habitats in these coral islands. The limited floral diversity is also a contributing
factor in reducing the number of invertebrates. A notable feature in the diversity
of spiders is the higher family and generic diversity. Except the common
families like Araneidae and Salticidae most families are represented by a few
species. Seven families are represented by only single species. Rare families like
Desidae which are not found in neighbouring mainland are also recorded from
these coral islands.
The spider fauna here is a chance assemblage of species arrived from
neighbouring lands. Most species found here are also found in Indian mainland
and Sri Lanka, which shows the primary route of spider migration. The sub order
Mygalamorphae is represented by only a Barychelid species, Sason robustum.
The scarcity of mygalmorphs can be attributed to the vast separation of these
coral islands from the neighbouring land. Legendre (1979) suggested that in the
case of Sason, its arboreal nest allowed for its transport as flotsam in ocean
currents. Another notable feature in the spider fauna is the high number of
Tetragnathid spiders of the genus Tetragnatha observed during the study. These
are common in most areas; the frequent equatorial rain also favours the
abundance of moisture loving genera.
There are many environmental factors that affect species diversity
(Rosenzweig 1995). However, when spiders were divided according to their
functional group there was a significant effect of habitat on the diversity of these
groups. The web building and foliage running spiders rely on vegetation for
some part of their lives, either for finding food, building retreats or for web
building. The structure of the vegetation is therefore expected to influence the
diversity of spiders found in the habitat. Studies have demonstrated that a
correlation exists between the structural complexity of habitats and species
diversity (Hawksworth, Kalin-Arroyo 1995). Diversity generally increases when
a greater variety of habitat types are present (Ried & Miller 1989). Uetz (1991)
suggests that structurally more complex shrubs can support a more diverse
spider community. The lack of high diversity of spiders in Maldives has to be
viewed in this context.
210
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
211
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
University of Novi Sad, Department of Biology and Ecology, Novi Sad, Serbia,
ivo.karaman@dbe.uns.ac.rs
There are a few as good land organisms suitable for studying historical
biogeography as Cyphophthalmi. Their ancient origin (Dunlop 2007),
conservative morphoanatomic characters, distribution, criptical way of life and
low dispersal rates recommend them for study.
From among 60 scientists that have been studying this group so far,
Christian Juberthie is the most prolific author. Following Hansen and Sørensen
(1904), he was the first to use the classical taxonomic approach to set the
foundation of modern taxonomy of Cyphophthalmi. Juberthie (and co-authors)
was the first to study the biogeography of Cyphophthalmi, including the plate
tectincs aspect (Juberthie & Massoud 1976). Juberthie (1988) also illustrated the
slow evolution of the group on the example of the genus Parasiro.
Equaly significant for our understanding of the diversity and distribution
of the group are the papers by Shear. In 1980 he proposed a reclassification of
Cyphophthalmi and provided a novel opinion of their relationships, based on
cladistic analysis of morphological characters. He also raised the group to the
family rank, describing it as a new taxo (Shear 1993).
Today the Cyphophthalmi are classified within 6 families: Sironidae
(Europe, North America, Japan), Pettalidae (temperate Gondwanan distribution),
Stylocelidae (great part of Indomalaya), Neogoveidae (Tropical South America,
Florida and West Africa), Ogoveidae (West Africa) and Troglosironidae (New
Caledonia).
A new period of the complex approach to the group, with cladistic
analyses of molecular and morphological data started with the papers by
Gonzalo Giribet and colaborators. Particularly important was the work on the
reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships and biogeographical studies (Giribet
& Boyer 2002, De Bivort & Giribet 2004, Boyer et al. 2007, Murienne et al.
2010, Clouse & Giribet in press). Recently, the Giribet’s group used also a
morphometric approach in an attempt to solve phyletic relationships among
certain groups of Cyphophthalmi (Clouse et al. 2009, De Bivort et al. 2010).
The classical taxonomic approach (recognition and assessment of
characters) has recently been wrongly neglected. Based on the analysis of a
number of representatives of various genera and families of Cyphophthalmi, I
have concluded that certain characters may clearly define families and phyletic
relations within them. Based on this analysis, Ankaratra franzi Shear & Gruber,
1996 from Madagascar clearly belongs to Ogoveid - Troglosironid clade. This
species shows affinity to Troglosironidae from New Caledonia, and this suggests
a possible connection of Cyphophthalmi from New Caledonia with Ogoveidae
212
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Boyer S.L., Clouse R.M., Benavides L.R., Sharma P., Schwendinger P.J.,
Kuranarathna I. & Giribet G. 2007. Biogeography of the World: a case
study from cyphophthalmid Opiliones, a globally distributed group of
arachnids. Journal of Biogeography, 34: 2070-2085
Clouse R.M., de Bivort B.L. & Giribet G. 2009. A phylogenetic analysis for the
Southeast Asian mite harvestman family Stylocellidae (Opiliones,
Cyphophthalmi) - a combined analysis using morphometric and molecular
data. Invertebrate Systematics, 23: 515-529.
Clouse R.M. & Giribet G. in press. When Thailand was an island - the
phylogeny and biogeography of mite harvestmen (Opiliones,
Cyphophthalmi, Stylocellidae) in Southeast Asia. Journal of
Biogeography.
De Bivort B.L. & Giribet G. 2004. A new genus of cyphophthalmid from the
Iberian Peninsula with a phylogenetic analysis of the Sironidae
(Arachnida: Opiliones: Cyphophthalmi) and a SEM database of external
morphology. Invertebrate Systematics, 18: 7-52.
De Bivort B.L., Clouse R.M. & Giribet G. 2010. A morphometrics-based
phylogeny of the temperate Gondwanan mite harvestmen (Opiliones,
Cyphophthalmi, Pettalidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics and
Evolutionary Research.
Dunlop J.A. 2007. Paleontology. In: Pinto-da-Rocha R., Machado G. & Giribet
G. (eds), Harvestmen. The Biology of Opiliones. Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 247-265.
Giribet G. & Boyer S. 2002. A cladistic analysis of the cyphophthalmid genera.
Journal of Arachnology, 30: 110-128.
Juberthie C. 1988. Les opilions cyphophthalmes biogeographie, vittesse
d’evolution, periodes de colonisation du mileu souterrain. XI
Europaisches Arachnologisches Colloquium, Berlin, pp. 303-308.
Juberthie C. & Massoud Z. 1976. Biogeographie, taxonomie et morphologie
ultrastructurale des opilions cyphophthalmes. Revue d Ecologie et de
Biologie du Sol, 13(1): 219-231.
Murienne J., Karaman I. & Giribet G. 2009. Explosive evolution of an ancient
group of Cyphophthalmi (Arachnida: Opiliones) in the Balkan Peninsula.
Journal of Biogeography.
213
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Shear W.A. 1980. A review of the Cyphophthalmi of the United States and
Mexico, with a proposed reclassification of the suborder (Arachnida,
Opiliones). American Museum Novitates, 2705: 1-34.
Shear W.A. 1993.The genus Troglosiro and the new family Troglosironidae
(Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi). The Journal of Arachnology, 21: 81-90.
Shear W.A. & Gruber J. 1996. Cyphophthalmid opilionids new to Madagascar:
two new genera (Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi ? Pettalidae). Bulletin of the
British Arachnological Society, 10: 181-186.
214
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
A lot of studies have been done so far dealing with the impact of different
grassland management on the occurring arthropod communities. They show that
an extensive grazing or mowing has a positive effect on the grassland
communities by preventing succession, while intensive mowing or grazing
impoverishes the spider communities through decreasing vegetation diversity
and microhabitat availability (Cattin et al. 2003, Rothenbücher 2004, Plantureux
2005, Warui et al. 2005, Pétillon et al. 2007).
Grassland habitats of the mountainous “Medvednica” Nature Park are
threatened by the loss of the traditional agricultural activities and an increasing
number of Park visitors followed by the need to reform grasslands for
recreational purposes.
From June to October 2007 a research of spider communities was
conducted on four meadows of the “Medvednica” Nature Park with a main goal
to determine the influence of intensive management of meadows used for
recreational purposes (skiing) on spider communities. The aim was to detect
differences in the assemblages of spider communities on three frequently mowed
meadows and on meadow not used for recreational purposes and mowed two
times a year.
The spiders were collected by hand, exhauster, sweeping and pitfall
trapping. Only the data sampled by pitfall traps were statistically analysed. On
each meadow nine pitfall traps were placed within a 10 x 10 m plot.
Overall 5023 spider specimens were collected, with 3384 adult specimens.
99 species were identified, out of which 25 were recorded for the first time in
Croatian spider fauna (Helsdingen 2009). As a new species also the
allochthonous spider species Mermessus trilobatus (Emerton, 1882) was
recorded. As expected, the spider community of the control plot differed
significantly from the intensively managed meadows and had the highest
biodiversity. On these three disturbed plots the most abundant species were
Oedothorax apicatus and Erigone dentipalpis, abundant and ubiquitous species
on the all kinds of grassland habitats, frequent in habitats under anthropogenic
impact (Roberts 1987, Hänggi et al. 1995, Buchar & Ružička 2002, Nentwig et
al. 2003, Schmidt et al. 2008). On the control plot, species Alopecosa cuneata
was the most abundant. On the disturbed plots the most abundant family, both in
the number of specimens and in the number of species, was family Linyphiidae.
On the undisturbed plot family Lycosidae was most abundant.
Although a further research, based on a detailed analysis on environmental
variables and habitat preferences of the recorded species, is needed, this
215
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Buchar J. & Ružička V. 2002. Catalogue of spiders of the Czech Republic, Peres
Publishers, Praha.
Cattin M.F., Blandenier G., Banašek-Richter C. & Bersier L.F. 2003. The impact
of mowing as a management strategy for wet meadows on spider
(Araneae) communities. Biological Conservation, 113: 179-188.
Hänggi A., Stöckli E. & Nentwig W. 1995. Habitats of Central European
Spiders. Miscelanea Faunistica Helvetiae, 4: 1-460.
Helsdingen P.J. van 2009. Araneae. In: Fauna Europaea Database (Version
2009.2), http://www.european-arachnology.org.
Nentwig W., Hänggi A., Kropf C. & Blick T. 2003. Spinnen Mitteleuropas -
Determination Key. Ver. 8.12.2003, http://www.araneae.unibe.ch/.
Pétillon J., Georges A., Canard A. & Ysnel F. 2007. Impact of cutting and sheep
grazing on ground-active spiders and carabids in intertidal salt marshes
(Western France). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, 30: 201-209.
Plantureux S., Peeters A. & McCracken D. 2005. Biodiversity in intensive
grasslands : Effect of management, improvement and challenges.
Agronomy research, 3(2): 153-164.
Roberts M.J. 1987. The Spiders of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 2:
Linyphiidae. Harley Books, Colchester.
Rothenbücher J. 2004. The Impact of Mowing and Flooding on the Diversity of
Arthropods in Floodplain Grassland Habitats of the Lower Oder Valley
National Park, Germany. Dissertation.
Schmidt M.H. Rocker S., Hanafi J. & Gigon A. 2008. Rotational fallows as
overwintering habitat for grassland arthropods: the case of spiders in fen
meadows. Biodiversity and Conservation, 17: 3003-3012.
Vickery J.A., Tallowin J.R., Feber R.E., Asteraki E.J., Atkinson P.W., Fuller
R.J. & Brown V.K. 2001. The management of lowland neutral grasslands
in Britain: effects of agricultural practices on birds and their food
resources. Journal of Applied Ecology, 38: 647-664.
Warui C.M., Villet M.H., Young T.P & Jocque R. 2005. Influence of grazing by
large mammals on the spider community of a Kenyan savanna biome.
Journal of Arachnology, 33: 269-279.
216
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
217
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Institute for Land Use Systems, Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
(ZALF), Germany, konrad@zalf.de
The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of vegetation structure
on species composition of ground beetle and spider assemblages, respectively as
well as its function as a driver for epigeic activity patterns. In 2008, field trials
were performed to analyse the communities of weeds, ground beetles
(Carabidae) and arachnids (Araneae, Opiliones) in three different conventionally
managed crop fields in Brandenburg, Germany. Each field was divided into
eight experimental plots. The crops cultivated were maize, peas, and winter rye,
respectively. The winter rye was intercropped with Sudan grass and mustard,
respectively, at the end of June. Vegetation structure was identified by the height
and cover values of the crop plants as well as of the weed. Ground beetles and
spiders were caught with pitfall traps in intervals of 14 days from April to
September and the species were identified in the laboratory. Vegetation surveys
on 72 sample plots on each field were performed. A total of 74 weed, 72 ground
beetle and 84 spider species were found. Analyses of the data with different
multivariate methods (Cluster analysis, discriminant analysis (DA),
correspondence analysis (CA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA)
revealed patterns of the structural parameters, as well as of the assemblages of
these species groups characteristic for each of the fields. These patterns
represent qualitative and quantitative differences in the assemblages of these
species groups, including species composition and -diversity as well as
dominance and biomass patterns, revealed to be stable on different spatial scales
(from single traps up to the field scale). After ploughing and seeding the
intercrops in two of the fields, rigorous species-specific changes in activity
patterns occurred. Vegetation structure was identified as a crucial driver for
epigeic activity patterns. The impact of the vegetation structure on spider
coenoses as a whole as well as on etho-ecological traits is discussed in relation
to some hypotheses of other authors about vegetation structure and animal
communities.
218
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Arachnology in Finland. 2
Seppo Koponen
About 450 species, ca 70% of the known Finnish spider fauna, are hitherto
collected from the southwestern archipelago of Finland. This large archipelago is
situated in the Baltic Sea, between Turku (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden). It
consists of over 40 000 islands and islets of different size. The archipelago is,
due to land rising after the Ice Age (ca 0.5 m /100 years), rather young. This
report is based on the databases of the Zoological Museum, University of Turku.
Species diversity and faunal similarity in different parts of the archipelago are
discussed, and some interesting distribution patterns are shown. For example,
some continental or northern species, found in inner parts of the archipelago, are
absent on the large-size island of Aland, e.g. Alopecosa pinetorum. On the other
hand, some species are known in Finland only from Aland, e.g. Labulla
thoracica and Hyptiotes paradoxus. Many other spiders can be found only in
Aland and other outer parts the archipelago, not in the inner, coastal zone, e.g.
Amaurobius fenestralis, Pseudicius encarpatus and Lasiargus hirsutus. Many
species included in the national Red Data Book live in Finland only or mainly in
this archipelago area.
219
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
220
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
221
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
studied so far, the palpimanid karyotypes contain both acrocentric and biarmed
autosome pairs. Male meiosis of palpimanids is probably achiasmate. This mode
of meiotic division is characterized by a lack of crossovers and consequently by
the absence of chiasmata at prophase during the first meiotic division. Due to the
lack of chiasmata, paired homologous chromosomes maintain a parallel
alignment during late prophase I (the so-called postpachytene stage). The sex
chromosomes of palpimanids are heteropycnotic and more or less associated
during most of the first meiotic division. At early prophase I they lie at the
nuclear periphery. From postpachytene to metaphase I, they form a highly
condensed unit usually situated in the centre of the plate. Unlike the autosome
bivalents, the sex chromosome unit does not decondense during a particular
stage of transitional chromatin decondensation, which was observed between
pachytene and postpachytene. In contrast to palpimanids, males of Mimetus sp.
show a typical entelegyne karyotype formed entirely of acrocentric
chromosomes, including two X chromosomes. Mimetids exhibit standard
meiosis; each of the autosome bivalents usually bears a single chiasma. By
transit from premeiotic interphase to leptotene, the two non-homologous
gonosomes form a positively heteropycnotic body usually situated at the nuclear
periphery and persisting until the zygotene – early pachytene stage. At diplotene
the gonosomes become isopycnotic with the autosomes and later negatively
heteropycnotic and less condensed than the autosomes. At the beginning of
diplotene the X chromosomes pair end-to-end without chiasmata, whereas at
metaphase I they already lie separately. The karyotypes of M. segmentata and R.
lividus are similar to mimetid representative in terms of chromosome numbers
and morphology, sex chromosome system, course of meiosis and meiotic
behaviour of the sex chromosomes. The co-occurrence of biarmed and
acrocentric automosomes in a karyotype is a very unusual phenomenon feature
amongst entelegyne spiders. Within the frame of Opisthothelae, the presence of
biarmed chromosomes is probably, as indicated by our previous data. This could
support the position of Palpimanidae as one of the basal araneomorph clades.
However, the combination of a high proportion of acrocentric chromosomes and
the presence of multiple X chromosomes has not been found in previously
karyotyped basal araneomorphs (Haplogynae, Hypochiloidea or
Austrochiliodiea). Instead, these characters are rather typical for entelegynes and
would in fact support the placement of Palpimanidae amongst entelegynes or
proto-entelegynes. Within the genus Palpimanus, systems with three or four X
chromosomes seem to be a frequent phenomenon. Such systems are regarded as
derived in spider sex chromosome evolution. Achiasmate meiosis is another
derived character that has not been confirmed in any other spider group so far
except for some diplurid mygalomorphs (see abstract of J. Král et al. for details).
We found this course of meiosis in two palpimanid subfamilies (Palpimaninae
and Chediminae). Although the third palpimanid subfamily Otiothopinae was
unfortunately not included in our analysis, the present findings indicate that
achiasmate meiosis might be a common characteristic of the whole family
Palpimanidae. Unlike palpimanids, the karyotype and course of meiosis in
Mimetus is similar to that of typical araneoids. Therefore, our data do not
222
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Coddington J.A. 2005. Phylogeny and classification of spiders. In: Ubick D,
Paquin P, Cushing PE, Roth V, eds., Spiders of North America: an
Identification Manual. American Arachnological Society, pp. 18-24.
Huber B. 2004. Evolutionary transformation from muscular to hydraulic
movements in spider (Arachnida, Araneae) genitalia: a study based on
histological serial sections. Journal of Morphology, 261: 364-376.
Schneider M.C., Stávale L.M., Brescovit A.D., Cella D.M. 2008. Cytogenetic
information on five species of entelegyne spiders [Infirmações
citogenéticas de cinco espécies die aranhas entelegynae (Araneae:
Araneomorphae)]. Abstract, 2nd Latinoamerican Congress of Arachnology,
30th Nov.- 4th Dec. 2008, Salta, Argentina, p 152
Suzuki S. 1954. Cytological studies in spiders. III. Studies on the chromosomes
of fifty-seven species of spiders belonging to seventeen families with
general considerations on chromosomal evolution. Journal of Science of
the Hiroshima University, B, 15: 23-136.
223
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The Crimean Peninsula is the mountainous highly isolated region, surrounded
by Black and Azov seas and connected with the mainland only by the narrow
Perekop isthmus.
The first spider record from Crimea was published by Falk (1786) while the
first description of spider species was published by Doblika (1853).
In 1875 Thorell published his two significant works (1875 a,b), describing
about 50 new species; many of them synonymised or found also in other regions
(Bulgaria, continental part of Ukraine, Rostov Area of Russia, Caucasus and
Turkey). These species were analyzed by the author (Kovblyuk 2002), who also
published Catalogue of Crimean spiders (Kovblyuk 2004). During the last years
more species and data on their distribution were found.
List of Crimean endemic spider taxa and their distribution (from published and
personal unpublished data):
Genera
Deliriosa Kovblyuk, 2009 (Lycosidae)
Spinestis Saaristo, Marusik, 2009 (Oonopidae)
Species
Agelenidae
Malthonica podoprygorai Kovblyuk, 2006 – all the mountainous part of Crimea
Tegenaria taurica Charitonov, 1947 (also recorded from Caucasus by Mkheidze
(1997), probably misidentified) – south part of the Crimean Mountains, in
caves and buildings.
Clubionidae
Clubiona mykolai Michailov, 2003 – all the mountainous part of Crimea.
Dysderidae
Harpactea doblikae (Thorell, 1875) – all the mountainous part of Crimea.
Gnaphosidae
Berlandina shumskyi Kovblyuk, 2003 – steppe in the plain part of Crimea.
Micaria blicki Kovblyuk, Nadolny, 2008 – all the mountainous part of Crimea.
M. bosmansi Kovblyuk, Nadolny, 2008 – saline lands in the plain part of Crimea,
southern coast with sub-Mediterranean vegetation.
Parasyrisca marusiki Kovblyuk, 2003 – mountain plateaus at 1000-1200 m a.s.l., in
the rocky mountain steppes.
224
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Linyphiidae
Diplocephalus pseudocrassilobus Gnelitsa, 2006 – south slope of the Crimean
Mountains.
Incestophantes australis Gnelitsa, 2009 – south slope of the Crimean Mountains.
Typhochrestus longisulcus Gnelitsa, 2006 – north slope of the Crimean Mountains.
Lycosidae
Lycosidae
Deliriosa karadagensis Kovblyuk, 2009 – sub-Mediterranean steppes in the east
part of the southern coast of Crimea.
Oonopidae
Spinestis nikita Saaristo, Marusik, 2009 – southern coast of the Crimean Mountains.
Salticidae
Neon kovblyuki Logunov, 2004 – southern coast of the Crimean Mountains.
Synaphridae
Synaphris lehtineni Marusik, Gnelitsa, Kovblyuk, 2005 – southern coast of the
Crimean Mountains.
Theridiidae
"Crustulina" albovittata (Thorell, 1875) (species with unclear generic status) – the
habitat and distribution is unknown
"Dipoena" lindholmi (Strand, 1910) (the species with the unknown generic position)
– southern part of the Crimean Mountains
Discussion
In total, 525 valid species from 225 genera and 38 families were recorded, of
them 17 endemic species (3.2%) and 2 endemic genera (0.8%). Most endemic
species live in the mountainous part, especially on southern slopes, except for
Berlandina shumskyi, which inhabits the steppe plains.
Endemism in Crimea is much lower than at the Balkan Peninsula (25%
species from ~ 1500) (Deltshev 2000) and Caucasus (~22% species from ~1022)
(Marusik et al. 2006). Low endemism is probably caused by the smaller area, land
age and geographical isolation. Nevertheless, total species diversity of Crimean
spiders is only twice lower than in Caucasus and 3 times lower than in the Balkans.
With the area of about 27,000 km2 and maximum elevation of 1,545 m a.s.l.,
Crimea is similar to Sardinia (about 24,000 km2; 1,834 m) and Corsica (about 9000
km2; 2710 m). Also the number of spider species (500 from each island) is similarly,
while endemism on Sardinia (27-29 species, ~6%) and Corsica (43-51 endemic
species, ~10%) it is much higher (Wunderlich 1995). It is probably the result of
stronger isolation of both islands (190 km and for Corsica respectively).
Another distinctive feature of Crimean spider fauna is the absence of endemic
adaptive radiation. The phenomenon is well known in some genera from Sardinia
(Harpactea, Leptoneta, Tegenaria) and from Corsica (Nemesia, Lepthyphantes
sensu lato) (Wunderlich 1995); from the Balkans (Troglohyphantes, Dysdera,
Lepthyphantes sensu lato, Tegenaria) (Deltshev 2000); and from Caucasus
(Dysdera, Harpactea) (Dunin 1992).
Karst topography is very well developed in the Crimean Mountains, with
225
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
many caves. However, cave spider fauna is very poor (5 species only), and no
endemic spiders are found. In this aspect, Crimea is very different from adjacent
Balkans, Turkey and Caucasus.
Conclusions
1. Crimean spider species diversity is large, but endemism is low.
2. Adaptive radiation in endemic spider groups does not occur.
3. Crimean cave species diversity is low, and cave endemics are lacking.
References
Deltshev Ch. 2000. The endemic spiders (Araneae) of the Balkan Peninsula. In:
Gajdos P., Pekar S. (eds), Proceedings of the 18th European Colloquium
of Arachnology, Stara Lesna, 1999. Ecologia (Bratislava), Supplement 3,
19: 59-65.
Doblika K. 1853. Beitrag zur Monographie der Spinnengeschlechts Dysdera.
Verhandlungen der zoologisch-botanischen Vereins in Wien, 3: 115-124.
Dunin P.M. 1992. The spider family Dysderidae of the Caucasian fauna (Arachnida,
Aranei, Haplogynae). Arthropoda Selecta, 1(3): 35-76 [in Russian with
English summary].
Falk J.P. 1789. Beiträge zur topographischen Kenntnis des Russischen Reiches. Bd.
3. Beitrage zur Thierkunde und Volkerbeschreibung, pp. 283-584, 1-25
(spiders on 443-444).
Kovblyuk M.M. 2002. To question about endemism of Crimean spiders (Arachnida,
Aranei). Zapovedniki Krima. Materialy II nauchnoi konferencii (25-26 April
2002). Simferopol, pp. 103-109 [in Russian].
Kovblyuk M.M. 2004. Catalogue of the spiders (Arachnida: Aranei) of the Crimea,
South Ukraine. Points on the development of the Crimea. Analytical,
scientific and practical collected articles open to discussion. 15-th issue:
Problems of the ecology in the Crimea. Inventory animals and plants species
in the Crimea. Simferopol: Tavriya-Plus, pp. 211-262 [in Russian].
Marusik Yu.M., Mikhailov K.G. & Guseinov E.F. 2006. Advance in the study of
biodiversity of Caucasian spiders (Araneae). Acta zoologica bulgarica,
Supplement 1, pp. 259-268.
Mkheidze T.S. 1997. Spiders of Georgia (taxonomy, ecology, zoogeoraphical
review). Tbilisi, University Publishing House, 384 pp. [in Georgian].
Thorell T. 1875a. Verzeichniss Südrussischer Spinnen. Horae Societatis
Entomologicae Rossicae, 11: 39-122.
Thorell T. 1875b. Descriptions of several European and North-African spiders.
Kungl Svenska Vetenskaps-Akademiens Handlingar, 13(5): 1-204.
Wunderlich J. 1995. Zur Kenntnis der Endemiten, zur Evolution und
Biogeographie der Spinnen Korsikas und Sardiniens, mit
neubeschreibungen (Arachnida: Araneae). Beiträge zur Araneologie, 4:
353-383.
226
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
227
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
228
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
229
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
230
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Karyotypes of some oonopid spiders are unique among all organisms because
they consist only of a single chromosome pair, formed by sex chromosomes X
and Y.
A derived X1X2Y system with an achiasmatic sex-chromosome pairing
during meiosis was found in some basal araneomorphs with standard
chromosomes, namely in the families Drymusidae, Filistatidae, Hypochilidae,
Pholcidae, and Sicariidae, suggesting that these groups form a monophyletic
clade. The structure of the X1X2Y system is conservative. These sex
chromosomes usually exhibit a metacentric morphology including a tiny Y
chromosome. Furthermore, they show the same type of distal end-to-end pairing
as found in Caponia. In contrast to other X1X2Y spiders, the X1X2Y system of
pholcids was converted gradually into the X0 system. To trace the evolution of
pholcid karyotypes and sex chromosomes, we have studied diploid numbers and
morphology of chromosomes, sex chromosome systems, and pattern of nucleolar
organizer regions (NOR) in selected species. In general, the evolution of
pholcids is characterized by a reduction of the number of autosome pairs and sex
chromosomes. The original type of X1X2Y system is retained in Spermophora
senoculata (2n♂=25; X1X2Y) only. Our data suggest reduction of the X2
chromosome in the common ancestor of the genera Leptopholcus and Pholcus.
Reduction of the X2 chromosome was accompanied by considerable enlargement
of the Y chromosome, possibly by translocation of autosome material. This type
of X1X2Y system was found in two afrotropical taxa, L. guineensis (2n♂=17;
X1X2Y) and P. guineensis (2n♂=23; X1X2Y). In the Palaearctic species P.
opilionoides and P. phalangioides (2n♂=25; X1X2Y), the metacentric
morphology of the reduced X2 chromosome was changed to an acrocentric one.
Interestingly, changes in the structure of sex chromosomes were accompanied by
changes of the NOR pattern. In S. senoculata, NORs were detected on three
autosome pairs. The karyotype of P. phalangioides contains NORs also on the
ends of X chromosomes included into meiotic pairing. This modification of sex
chromosomes may facilitate their achiasmatic pairing.
'Holocnemine' pholcids exhibit a considerably different evolution of the
X1X2Y system. An early loss of the ancestral Y microchromosome changed the
X1X2Y mode into a secondary X1X20 system. We found the most ancestral
karyotype in Smeringopus sp. from South Africa (♂2n=28; X1X20). Both X
chromosomes of this species retain a metacentric morphology. In Smeringopus
sp. from Madagascar, Hoplopholcus cf. cecconii from Israel (♂2n=28; X1X20),
and Crossopriza cylindrogaster (♂2n=26; X1X20), the morphology of the X2
chromosome was changed to subtelocentric or acrocentric by pericentric
inversion. Finally, a fusion of X1 and X2 chromosomes produced an X0 system
in some species of Crossopriza (C. lyoni and Crossopriza sp.nov. from
Morocco; 2n♂=23; X0) and in the genus Holocnemus (H. pluchei ♂2n=27; X0,
H. hispanicus ♂2n=23; X0). In contrast to the Old World pholcids, published as
well as our data suggest that the X0 system originated early in the clade of New
World pholcids. All species studied so far show the X0 system.
Altogether, our data confirm the evolutionary plasticity of the X1X2Y
system in the family Pholcidae. Furthermore, these results indicate that the
231
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
X1X2Y clade can be more diversified than previously thought. It might include
also families whose extant representatives do not have the X1X2Y system. This
concerns especially the families Scytodidae (X0), Austrochilidae (XY), and
Diguetidae (XY) whose karyotypes show some features typical for the X1X2Y
clade.
232
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
233
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
234
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Individuals of the same sex and species commonly differ from each other
in their behavioural characteristics. Individual behavioural characteristics may
be repeatable and consistent across multiple contexts. Analogous to humans,
such characteristics are referred to as personality-related traits. Behavioural
characteristics commonly come in packages (correlate) and form personality
dimensions. Some personality dimensions, such as aggression, boldness,
sociability, exploration and general activity are universal for vertebrates,
whereas others are species-specific. Personalities are moderately heritable and
often contingent on neuroendocrinological processes. Personalities influence
individuals' ecology, survival and reproductive success. Few studies have
investigated intraspecific behavioural variation in invertebrates, although their
species diversity as well as behavioural, ecological and morphological
variability is much higher than in vertebrates. This paucity of data is probably
due to general belief that invertebrates, in contrast to behaviourally plastic
vertebrates, behave as “mini-robots”. We investigated intraspecific behavioural
differences in females Nephilengys malabarensis, a common SE Asian nephilid
spider, and their importance for web building and reproductive success. In the
first step we determined personality related behaviours. For this purpose, each
individual was repeatedly tested in a series of standardized tests, i.e. predator test
(reactivity), contest (aggressiveness to a conspecific of the same sex), mating
(aggressiveness towards a mate, sexual cannibalism) and novel environment test
(boldness and exploratory behaviour). To reveal species personality dimensions,
personality related behaviours were correlated. Repeatability was shown for
reactivity, exploration and aggressiveness towards a conspecific, suggesting
these behaviours are heritable and related to personality in N. malabarensis. The
more aggressive the individuals were, the less explorative they tended to be in a
novel environment. This is in accordance with studies in vertebrates (great tits
and rodents), suggesting a common, albeit opposite, evolutionary pathway of
these two behavioural traits. Aggressiveness towards a conspecific did not
correlate to aggressiveness towards a male during mating, implying their
different underlying mechanisms (natural vs. sexual selection). The most and the
least explorative spiders differed in their web building in captivity: more
explorative spiders built webs with retreat only, whereas non-explorative spiders
235
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
built finished webs. Females that were more aggressive towards their mates also
captured more prey, as in previous studies on Dolomedes and Agelenopsis.
Unexpectedly however, the females that were most aggressive towards
conspecifics of the same gender, caught least prey. Spiders of different
behavioural characteristics did not differ in their willingness to mate. In
conclusion, orb-weaving spiders N. malabarensis consistently differ individually
in reactivity, exploration and aggressiveness towards conspecifics. Individual
differences in exploration of a novel environment are reflected in web building
abilities. To date, only a handful of studies exist researching spider personality,
and these are currently too scattered taxonomically to allow generalizations and
syntheses in this promising field of research.
236
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The environment is periodic with respect to day-night; a periodical
pattern of animals synchronised with this environmental rhythm. This periodism
is specific and individual. To compete in periodic world, the organism must have
a periodic activity (Park 1941).
Results
Of almost 12,000 specimens of ground-dwelling invertebrates, 5,817
spiders were collected and identified. Spiders represented 108 taxa from 20
families. In general, a high number of species was noticed at forest in spring (71
taxa), in autumn the coenose decreased in number of species to 42; 31 species
were identical for both seasons. In the clear-cut area the number of species
decreased from 62 to 26 taxa; 17 species were identical, only.
Considering the eudominant and dominant species, Abacoproeces
saltuum (43.8%) and Pardosa lugubris (14.6%) were eudominant species,
Coelotes terrestris (5.2%) was dominant and subdominants were Pardosa
prativaga (4.5%), Panamomops mengei (3.7%), Ceratinella brevipes (2.5%) and
juveniles of the genus Pardosa (4.6%). 101 species had recedent or subrecedent
status.
237
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Conclusions
Spiders’ body size seems to be very closely related with their diel
activities. The body size of 108 spider species markedly differed in length; vary
in size from 1.2 mm (P. mengei) to 17.0 mm (P. mirabilis). We found four types
of diel activity of epigeic spiders: diurnal one- phase in the morning; diurnal
one-phase in the afternoon; nocturnal one-phase in the night; diurnal-nocturnal
diphase in the morning and evening (or night).
Spiders with differences in body-size of sexes (females larger by about
0.6-1.1 mm) - the smallest spiders (1.2-1.8 mm) and small spiders (2.9 - 4.0 mm)
showed the diurnal diphase activity with two peaks; in the morning were active
larger females, and in the evening or night were active males. In this category of
diurnal diphase activity (morning – evening) belong – D. picinus, C. brevipes,
W. dysderoides or P. mengei; into the diphase morning – night belong O.
praticola or M. herbigradus.
Small spiders (1.6-2.9 mm) with no differences in sexes’ body size
showed the diurnal activity with one phase in the morning and the activity of
both sexes were similar during the day. In the category of diurnal morning
activity belong – A. saltuum or W. obtusa.
238
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Bigger spiders (8.0-12 mm) with sexes’ similar body size showed diurnal
activity with one phase in the afternoon. Both sexes as well as their juveniles
were active before the sun shining, nocturnal activity was not confirmed. In this
category of diurnal afternoon activity belong all species of the genus Pardosa –
P. lugubris, P. prativaga, P. amentata, P. pullata, their juveniles, and the
juveniles of C. terrestris.
Big spiders (12-17 mm) demonstrated a typical one phase of nocturnal
activity. This diel activity was confirmed at both sexes. In the category of
nocturnal activity (midnight) belong spiders – P. mirabilis or C. terrestris.
Acknowledgement
Thanks to the leaders and ardent students, the tireless collectors, this
research could be realised. We would like thanks to the Slovak Grant Agency
VEGA (No. 02/0067/08 and 01/0176/09), Ministry of Environment of the Czech
Republic (No. SP/2D3/155/08) and Czech National Research Programme II (No.
2B 06101) for support this work.
239
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
240
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
241
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
242
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
243
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
244
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
245
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
There is a general underrepresentation of invertebrates in conservation
research: only 11% of conservation articles between 1987 and 2001 involved
invertebrates despite the fact that they represent 75–79% of all described species
worldwide (Clark and May 2002). As a consequence, conservation planning
tools have been developed specifically for taxa whose distributions are well
known, such as birds, mammals and plants. However, conservation planning
based on single surrogate taxa may fail to cover at-risk species (Lawler et al.
2003), and in some cases, it has been demonstrated that although invertebrates
are strong predictors of conservation priorities for vertebrates, the reverse cannot
be said (Moritz et al. 2001). In this context, spiders have characteristics that
make them a good indicator taxon (Marc et al. 1999), and the availability of
biodiversity databases compiling previous samplings and/or species lists
available in a given region (e.g. Pétillon et al. 2007, Samu et al. 2008) make
them a good candidate to develop suitable conservation tools.
The selection of areas for biodiversity conservation is currently based on
two main methodological approaches: (i) complementarity-based approaches,
and (ii) scoring procedures. Complementarity-based approaches aim at selecting
a network of complementary sites in the context of concerted conservation plans.
Scoring procedures aim at ranking sites in order of value according to one or
several criteria, such as rarity or threat status (e.g. Fattorini 2006, Simaika &
Samways 2009). Hence, unlike the complementarity based-approaches, scoring
procedures are more suitable for spiders because they can be applied to set local
priorities, select or monitor one or a few sites, or assess the impact of different
management modes.
However, existing scoring procedures are generally not transferable
between different taxa, geographic areas and spatial scales, limiting their scope
and precluding their use in conservation strategies. Therefore, we propose a new
flexible index for assessing the conservation value of species assemblages, based
on biodiversity databases.
246
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
into account a rarity cut-off point (i.e. the threshold of occurrence below which
species are considered rare) (Gaston 1994). This new weighting method thus
allows for calculating indices over a range of rarity cut-off points in order to
precisely analyse the patterns of rarity in assemblages. Furthermore, this method
can be applied at different geographic scales and/or areas, and to other taxa. We
developed guidelines for practical applications of the index following Gaston’s
recommendations on rarity (Gaston 1994).
We proposed two methods for ranking sites according to the index: the
first consisted in ranking the sites by their median rank over a range of rarity cut-
offs. The second method consisted in comparing sites with the known
assemblages of the reference region. The latter allowed for ranking sites
depending on their position in relation to all the known assemblages of the
reference region, as well as to characterize a particular site in relation to a
comparable pool of sites from the reference region (e.g. same biotope).
Results
At a local scale we applied the index to spider assemblages colonising
different biotopes of a National Nature Reserve in the Armorican Massif
(Western France). The analysis provided consistent results, highlighting four
main patterns of rarity (see Fig. 1):
1. First, there were assemblages having high indices whatever the rarity cut-off
(i.e. high proportions of rare species, whatever the intensity of rarity
considered).
2. Second, there were assemblages with high indices at low rarity cut-offs but
not at high rarity cut-offs (i.e. presence of very rare species despite a low
general proportion of rare species).
3. Third, there were assemblages with low indices at low rarity cut-offs, but
high indices at higher rarity cut-offs (i.e. lack of very rare species, but high
proportion of less rare species).
4. Finally, there were assemblages with low indices whatever the rarity cut-off,
(i.e. globally weak proportion of rare species).
Therefore, this analysis avoided the twofold risk of both neglecting assemblages
of potential interest (with a high proportion of rare species) and missing very
rare species (e.g. when the rest of the assemblage is composed of common
species).
At a higher scale, we applied the index to compare the conservation values
of the main habitat types of Western France (heathlands, dunes, forests,.) in
relation to the macroclimatic areas within which they are embedded. The
proposed guidelines worked well in fitting the range of rarity cut-offs to the
considered geographic scale and thus permitted an accurate emphasis on at-risk
species.
247
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
0.15
Conservation value (Ic Index)
0.10
0.05
0.00
2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 8% 9% 10 % 11 % 12 % 13 % 14 %
Very rare species Rare species Uncommon species
Rarity cut-off
Fig. 1. Values of the index as a function of the rarity cut-off point (based on four
assemblages of the National Nature Reserve of Séné, Western France). The rarity cut-off
point is expressed as a percentage of the occurrence of the most widespread species.
Discussion
In conclusion, such an assessment of species assemblages provided
consistent and reliable results, and could be quickly applied to different
geographic areas and/or scales once occurrence data are available or can be
gathered. This new index is particularly hopeful for setting conservation
priorities, characterizing and/or monitoring the conservation values of one or
several sites in relation to a reference region, or assessing the impact of different
management modes.
References
Clark J.A., May R.M. 2002. Taxonomic bias in conservation research. Science,
297: 191-192.
Fattorini S. 2006. A new method to identify important conservation areas
applied to the butterflies of the Aegean Islands (Greece). Animal
Conservation, 9: 75-83.
Gaston K.J. 1994. Rarity. Chapman & Hall, London.
Lawler J.J., White D., Sifneos J.C. & Master L.L. 2003. Rare species and the use
of indicator groups for conservation planning. Conservation Biology, 17:
875-882.
248
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Marc P., Canard A. & Ysnel F. 1999. Spiders (Araneae) useful for pest
limitation and bioindication. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment,
74: 229-273.
Moritz C., Richardson K.S., Ferrier S., Monteith G.B., Stanisic J., Williams S.E.
& Whiffin T. 2001. Biogeographical concordance and efficiency of taxon
indicators for establishing conservation priority in a tropical rainforest
biota. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B., 268: 1875-1881.
Pétillon J., Courtial C., Canard A. & Ysnel F. 2007. First assessment of spider
rarity in Western France. Revista Ibérica Aracnologia, 15: 105-113.
Samu F., Csontos P. & Szinetar C. 2008. From multi-criteria approach to simple
protocol: Assessing habitat patches for conservation value using species
rarity. Conservation Biology, 141: 1310-1320.
Simaika J.P. & Samways M.J. 2009. Reserve selection using Red Listed taxa in
three global biodiversity hotspots: Dragonflies in South Africa.
Conservation Biology, 142: 638-651.
249
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
250
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
6
Research support by: ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche, França), CNPq
(Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), IRD (Institut de
Recherche pour le Développement), UFPA (Universidade Federal do Pará), UFRA
(Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia), MPEG (Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi).
251
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
252
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Decaёns T., Lavelle P., Jimenez Jaen J.J., Escobar G. & Rippstein G. 1994.
Impact of land management on soil macrofauna in the Oriental Llanos of
Colombia. European Journal of Soil Biology, 30(4): 157-168.
Decaёns T., Jimenez J.J., Gioia C., Measey G.J. & Lavelle P. 2006. The values
of soil animals for conservation biology. European Journal of Soil
Biology, 42: 23-38.
Fearnside P.M. 2006. Fragile soils and deforestation impacts: The rationale for
environmental services of standing forest as a development paradigm in
Latin America. In: Posey D.A. & Balick M.J. (eds.), Human Impacts on
Amazonia: The Role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in
Conservation and Development. Columbia University Press, New York,
pp. 158-171.
Laurance W.F., Albernaz A.K.M., Schroth G., Fearnside P.M., Bergen S.,
Venticinque E.M. & Da Costa C. Predictors of deforestation in the
Brazilian Amazon. Journal of Biogeography, 29: 737-748.
Lavelle P., Blanchart E., Martin A., Spain A.V. & Martin S. 1992. The impact of
soil fauna on the properties of soils in the humid tropics. In: Sanchez P.A.
& Lal R. (eds), Myths and science of soils of the tropics. Soil Science
Society of America, 185 p.
253
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
254
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
255
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Griswold C., Coddington J., Hormiga G. & Scharff N. 1998. Phylogeny of the
orb-web building spiders (Araneae, Orbiculariae: Deinopoidea,
Araneoidea). Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 123: 1-99.
256
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
257
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
258
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
259
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
260
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The beautiful diversity of salticid spiders has long proved a challenge for
systematists, enticing but overwhelming. However, one hundred years of
phylogenetic work has yielded progress, and a surprising result: each major
region (the Americas, Afro-Eurasia, and Australasia) is dominated by different
major salticid clades, and conversely many major salticid clades are largely
restricted to a single continental area. Thus, the salticids of each area have
radiated into diverse body forms and ecologies more or less independently from
those in other areas. These replicate radiations provide an opportunity to study
general patterns in community assembly over evolutionary time. A combination
of molecular and fossil data suggests that salticids are young, diversifying during
the Tertiary after the continents had separated. Our reasonably-complete
phylogeny now allows us to consider evolutionary patterns in many features,
from chromosomes to ant mimicry.
261
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
262
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Agnarsson I., Avilés L., Coddington J. & Maddison W. 2006. Sociality in
Theridiid spiders: repeated origins of an evolutionary dead end. Evolution,
60: 2342-2351.
263
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
264
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
New Zealand native ecosystems have been modified and reduced since the
arrival of humans. Tussock grasslands or, which once covered large parts of the
South Island, have been transformed into pasture for livestock through clearing,
burning and over sowing in the last 150 years. Considered ecologically distinctive
because of their large levels of endemicity and economically important for their
utility as pasture for livestock, tussock grasslands have been the subject of
relatively extensive botanical research. However, their invertebrate, and more
particularly spider fauna has been overlooked and little ecological research has
been carried out on them.
Our study aims to answer some of the questions about the arachnofauna of
these ecosystems. First, we conducted an evaluation of the efficiency of spider
sampling methods in narrow leaved snow tussock (Chionochloa rigida) grasslands
in order to determine which one(s) should be given preference and included in
monitoring protocols or ecological studies, and which conditions they should be
used in. Next, we analysed and identified the biotic and abiotic factors that drive
diversity in tussock covered areas, giving special attention to the families and
species with potential as ecological indicators of changes in the ecosystem.
Finally, we investigated the effects of controlled fire in semi-modified
tussocklands through a medium-long term experimental study, where we assessed
the changes in the spider communities over a period of eight years, covering pre-
and post-fire years. The extent of the presence and impact of exotic species was
also assessed. In addition, the potential of molecular techniques to complete
ecological data and help answer ecological questions was evaluated.
265
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
unique species were found through other collecting methods. Pitfall trapping
should be combined with other techniques when the objective is to carry out an
exhaustive spider survey or a complete ecological study of the spider community.
A number of biotic and abiotic factors were combined through data
reduction in order to create surrogate explanatory variables that explained the
variation in spider assemblages in space. Such surrogate variables were related to
environmental gradients between areas with different types of vegetation that
indicated differing soil conditions or the three dimensional structure of the plants.
These gradients in vegetation were matched by gradient in spider communities,
with families like Orsolobidae favouring areas with marshland vegetation and
aerial web building families, such as Linyphiidae, preferring sparsely distributed
patches of shrubby plant species. Therefore, and after the confirmation of such
relationships by individual variables, it was concluded that environmental factors,
such as soil moisture affects the plant composition and structure in tussock
ecosystems, which in turn determines the spider composition and the relative
abundances of the families and species present. The information obtained allowed
the identification of certain families and species as potential ecological indicators
of the structure and conditions of a tussock area, which could be included in
monitoring programs for conservation management.
A larger project looking at the changes in invertebrate diversity of native
tussock grasslands of New Zealand provided the opportunity to study and
demonstrate the profound effects of fire in an ecosystem not adapted to regular
burning. This experiment, run for eight years, consisted of plots representing
spring and summer burnt treatments as well as a control treatment with samples
collected before and after a controlled fire. Spring and summer burnt treatments
showed significant differences in spider diversity with respect to the control, with
number of families, species and values of other diversity indicators decreasing
drastically after the fire and remaining significantly different for four years.
Although the overall trend was a decrease in the abundance of most spider
families, the family Linyphiidae showed a large increase in the years following the
fire. This can be explained by their efficient dispersal and ability to colonise new
habitats. An increase in the number of exotic linyphiid species, and most
particularly the species Diplocephalus cristatus, a European species well
established in New Zealand, may be behind this trend. This shows the importance
of addressing the question of the effects of disturbances on the interactions
between native – mostly endemic – and exotic species in New Zealand ecosystems
and the dangers that they may pose to native biodiversity.
Mitochondrial DNA sequences of the species present in the study areas
allowed the separation and identification of undescribed species, which was
necessary to complete the data prior to ecological analyses. In addition, it helped
with the identification of undescribed species, which would have been classified as
exotic species using morphological criteria.
Conclusions
This study shows the complex and combined effects that different
environmental variables have on spider assemblages in tussock grasslands. The
266
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
267
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
268
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Institute for Biological Problems of the North, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan,
Russia, yurmar@mail.ru
Introduction
Scutum is defined as a sclerotized abdominal plate of some spiders
(Dippenaar-Schoeman & Jocqué 1997). The scutum has been described in many
spider families belonging to different superfamilies and even suborders. In the
Holarctic region, spiders with the scutum have been reported from Anapidae
(Comaroma), Araneidae (Cercidia), Corinnidae (♂, Castianeira, Trachelas,
Phrurolithus), Gnaphosidae (males of Zelotini), Linyphiidae (several genera:
Ceratinella, Pelecopsis, Styloctetor, Ceraticellus), Oonopidae (several genera),
Palpimanidae (all species), Salticidae (males of Chalcoscirtus, Euophrys
frontalis, some Aelurillus), Theridiidae (some Euryopis s. l., Pholcomma, etc.),
Zodariidae (several genera) and others. Outside of the Holarctic spiders scutum
has been described in Clubiona s. l. and in several other families (e.g.,
Tetrablemmidae).
Most of arachnologists are familiar with the dorsal abdominal scutum.
However, besides a single dorsal abdominal scutum (rarely two in Oonopidae),
there can be more scuta, from one to six pairs. With regard to the number of
scuta, the world champions are Tetrablemmidae. They possess the dorsal
scutum, up to four ventral unpaired scuta, and up to four pairs of lateral stripe-
like scuta.
Abdominal scuta can be divided into three types according to their
position: dorsal, lateral and ventral. As the dorsal scutum is most common, no
attention is usually paid to the ventral scutum (scuta). Thus, the aim of this
presentation is to describe different types of the ventral scuta and to demonstrate
their importance in the identification and classification of spiders.
In addition to the dorsal scutum, the majority of scutate spiders have one
or more ventral scuta. Ventral scuta have been reported for such genera as
Castianeira (Corinnidae), Palpimanus (Palpimanidae), the male of Euophrys
frontalis (Salticidae), Comaroma (Anapidae), Silhouettella (Oonopidae),
Linyphiidae (several genera), and Zodariidae.
Ventral scuta can be grouped into three types: 1) epigastral (anterior part
of abdomen, in front of the epigastral furrow, 2) inframammillary (close or
around the spinnerets) [the terminology follows Crosby & Bishop 1925] and 3)
intermediate (between the epigastral furrow and spinnerets). All three types can
be represented by a single solid scutum or by several scuta.
Scuta in Linyphiidae
My attention was attracted to ventral scuta when I had found a heavily
scutate Erigoninae spider from the Caucasus. Later, it was described as a new
species in a new genus Scutpelecopsis wunderlichi (Marusik & Gnelitsa, 2009).
269
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The male abdomen of this species is almost a capsule, with large dorsal and
ventral scuta leaving two orifices: for the pedicel and for the spinnerets. The
female of this species possesses 5 ventral scuta! The question arose: how could
these numerous scuta have originated, and whether such a scuta are present in
other Erigoninae, or whether S. wunderlichi is unique in this respect.
Dorsal scutum is known in several Erigoninae: Pelecopsis s.l. (several
species), Ceratinella,
Ceraticelus, Idionella, Styloctetor, etc. In most of these taxa only males
possess the scutum. Dorsal scutum usually covers a part of the dorsum, except
for some species of Ceraticelus s.l., Pelecopsis bishopi Kaston, 1945, and
Ceratinella spp.
Ventral scuta: When I had compared S. wunderlichi with other scutate
erigonids, I recognized that many of them have several ventral scuta (maximum
of 5), some of which could be fused: 1) a pair of the infrapetiolar scuta (ip); 2) a
pair of the book-lung scuta (bl); 3) an unpaired inframammillary (im). Epigastral
scuta can be fused to various extend or can even form a single solid scutum. A
fusion level of the epigastric scuta in males is higher than in females. In the male
of S. wunderlichi, all the ventral scuta are fused, which leads to a unique
conformation of the genital area. In the literature, I have found only one
mentioning of the paired epigastral scuta.
Fig. 1. Ventral scuta in some erigonids, showing different levels of the sclerotization and
fusion of scuta. Males have larger scuta than females, ip - infrapetiolar scutum; bl -
book-lung scutum; im – inframammillary scutum.
270
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Taxonomy
A comparison of different populations of widespread Ceratinella wideri
has revealed differences in the size of ventral scuta. This fact may indicate that
the Far Eastern populations may belong to a different species or subspecies. A
comparison of different species of Ceratinella or scutate Pelecopsis from
Finland has demonstrated that the shape of epigastral scuta can be used as an
additional character for species identification.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Basic
Research grants: 08-04-92230-ГФЕН, 09-04-01365 and 10-04-91225.
References
Crosby C.R. & Bishop S.C. 1925. Studies in New York spiders; Genera: Ceratinella
and Ceraticelus. New York State Museum Bulletin, 264: 1-71.
Dippenaar-Schoeman A.S. & Jocqué R. 1997. African Spiders: An Identification
Manual. Plant Protection Res. Inst. Handbook, no. 9, Pretoria, 392 pp.
Marusik Y.M. & Gnelitsa V.A. 2009. Description of a new genus of spiders from
the eastern Mediterranean and the most armored erigonid species from the
western Caucasus (Aranei: Linyphiidae: Erigoninae). Arthropoda Selecta, 18:
57-68.
271
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
For a long time the suprageneric classification of spiders was based
exclusively on somatic characters (as in entomology). Lehtinen (1967) was the
first to clearly demonstrate the importance of copulatory organs in spider
classification. He significantly changed the whole principles of spider taxonomy
and made many changes. He especially made many changes in the classification
of families within the RTA-clade.
While working with different families in the RTA-clade we recognized
that many supraspecific taxa (genera, tribes, subfamilies) have an identical
conformation of the male palp (we call this conformation the Dictyna-type palp).
If the Dictyna-type palp is plesiomorphic, then the occurrence of this palpal
conformation in different families can be expected. What surprised us however,
was that several families have very different types of male palp, despite their
somatic morphology being more or less uniform. For example all Dictynidae or
Cybaeidae have the same type of palp, while in Agelenidae, one subfamily
(Ageleninae) includes groups with completely different palps (Agelenini vs
Tegenariini & Textrixini). A similar situation occurs in Desidae and Hahniidae.
Terminology
Before further discussing morphology and possible relationships between
taxa with similar palps or similar somatic morphologies, we should consider
some terminological issues.
The current use of terminology is rather chaotic: 1) In some instances
different names are used for homologous structures, whereas in others the same
name is applied to non-homologous structures. 2) The etymology of terms is
often based on very different principles, and same term can be applied for
different structures on the same palp. We recognized at least six different
etymological backgrounds for palpal structures:
1) Topographical/position: median, terminal, subterminal, sub(tegulum),
supra(tegulum), basal, retrolateral, palea (if derived from ‘upper’).
2) Deviating: (belonging, derivative): tegular, tibial, embolic, radial,
paracymbium.
3) Shape: lamella characteristica, palea (if derived from ‘membranous’).
4) Functional: Conductor, embolus.
5) Constructional: radix, psembolus, embolic division.
272
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
273
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
these groups is poor, because it is based only on somatic characters and totally
ignores the copulatory organs.
How we define the Dictyna-type of palp.
1) Fungus-like (two-armed) conductor
2) Round and large base of embolus (if short)
3) Conductor originates near the base of the embolus
4) Flat tegulum, with seminal duct following a circular course
5) Filamentous embolus
6) Modified (complicated) tip (retrolateral tip) of conductor.
7) Conductor (retrolateral part) terminates on the retrolateral side of the bulbus.
274
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
In all Dictyna s. str. type the retrolateral part of the conductor terminates,
or at least passes through (nearby) the base of the bulbus (cymbial-tibial
connection).
Dictyna s. str. type occurs in:
Cybaeidae: Cybaeus s. l., (treated by Lehtinen (1967) in Dictynidae, as a
subfamily).
Argyronetidae: Argyroneta (treated by Lehtinen (1967) in Dictynidae, as a
subfamily).
Desidae: Paratheuma, Corthesia.
Dictynidae: Dictyninae, Tricholathysinae (Devade, Argenna, Saltonia
(previously placed in Agelenidae), etc); Cicurininae (Yorima, Cicurina,
Blabomma, Brommella).
Agelenidae: Agelininae: Textricini (Textrix).
“Hahniidae”: Cryphoeca (?C. montana).
Mastigusa – currently in Dictynidae, but palp not typical, terminal arm
terminates in the wrong place, placed by Lehtinen (1967) in Tuberta.
Tuberta – currently in Hahniidae:+Cryphoecinae, but the palp is more similar to
the Dictyna-type.
Tegenaria-type:
Agelenidae/Ageleninae: Tegenariini.
“Hahniidae”: Cryphoeca silvicola and related taxa
Fig. 2. Distribution of the Dictyna- and Tegenaria- subtypes among different taxa.
275
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Conclusion
What is wrong (or what seems less probable than others): 1) taxonomy, 2)
somatic morphology, or 3) morphology of the copulatory organs? In our opinion
taxonomy and somatic morphology are causing the problems. It is not difficult to
test what is more correct, just apply DNA analysis for a selected group. It may
be more appropriate to test simple, but clear hypotheses rather than attempting to
make a standard cladogram in the first instance. For example we suggest to
compare two absolutely different types (Agelena – Tegenaria) and two subtypes
of Dictyna, for example: Agelena (not a Dictyna-type) – Tegenaria (Tegenaria
subtype) – Dictyna or Agelena – Tegenaria – Cryphoeca – Dictyna or Tegenaria
– Dictyna – Cybaeus – Textrix.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Basic
Research grants: 08-04-92230-ГФЕН, 09-04-01365 and 10-04-91225.
References
Lehtinen P.T. 1967. Classification of the cribellate spiders and some allied
families, with notes on the evolution of the suborder Araneomorpha.
Annales Zoologici Fennici, 4: 199-468.
Marusik Yu. M., Ovchinnikov S.V. & Koponen S. 2006. Uncommon
conformation of the male palp in common Holarctic species belonging to
the Lathys stigmatisata group (Araneae, Dictynidae). Bulletin of the
British Arachnological Society, 13(9): 353-360.
276
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
277
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Spiders are of economic value to mankind because of their ability to
suppress pest abundance in agroecosystems. The diversity and density of spiders
are important in any kind of attempt for the implementation of integrated pest
management (IPM). They exhibit extremely high diversity and are the dominant
insectivores in many terrestrial ecosystems. Faced with the need to reduce
pesticide usage on crops and optimize natural biological control, full
investigation of the means by which spiders influence pest abundance is long
overdue.
Rice agroecosystems demand greater attention as rice is the staple food in
developing countries. Asia accounts for more than 90% of the world’s rice
production and consumption. Being a wetland agroecosystem, paddy cultivation
is different from other agricultural productions. The biodiversity of wetland rice
ecosystem is highly varied than that of many natural ecosystems (Schoenly et al.
1996). Consequently, there are a growing number of investigations in which
spiders in agroecosystems are used as tools to gain insights into the role of
generalist predators in community and ecosystem function (Sunderland 1999).
Studies of the rice field spider fauna of India are limited to the identification of
spiders and investigation of the dominant spider species (Sebastian et al. 2005).
It is less common for workers to analyze the vertical stratification of spider
community in the field (Anbalagan & Narayanasamy 1999). In this context, a
preliminary study was conducted on vertical stratification of spiders in the
Kuttanad rice agroecosystem to analyze the microhabitat association of spiders
in paddy fields.
278
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Spiders were collected by handpicking. For the present study, five main
functional groups were recognized based on the activity and foraging behaviour
related to average height of the rice plant, namely <20 cm from water/soil
surface, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80 cm and >80 cm (Lee & Kim 2001). The
final growth stage of each plant was thoroughly examined from top to bottom,
on leaf blades, flowers, dry leaves and ground stratum. The ground area near
plants was also searched. The location where the spiders were spotted was taken
note of. Spiders were collected by leading them into glass vials from the ground
stratum and terminals of the plants. The collected specimens were preserved in
70% ethyl alcohol, properly labelled with collection locality, date and other
significant notes. They were then identified with the help of available literature
(Barrion & Litsinger 1999).
Results
A total of 1632 individuals from 70 species, 45 genera and 15 families
were collected during the study period. The most species rich family was
Salticidae (15 species) followed by Tetragnathidae (12 species) and Araneidae
(7 species). Spiders were divided into five strata based on the activity and
foraging behaviour related to average height of the rice plant. The spiders which
build perfect orb-webs were mainly present at the canopy level of the crop.
Hence Araneidae and Tetragnathidae were found foraging mainly at the top
layer of the rice plants. This stratum provides sufficient area for the construction
of web and increases the chance of prey entanglement in the webs. There is very
little chance of locating ground dwelling spiders at the canopy level of the plant.
Ground dwellers such as lycosids were mainly present at the bottom level of the
field, although there is possibility of these spiders coming up for pursuing the
insect prey. The spiders which build irregular cob-webs were also present near
the bottom of the field or below half level of the average plant height.
The spiders collected during the study were classified into 7 ecological
guilds based on the foraging mode of the spiders. The spider guild classification
was composed according to the families collected during the study. Designation
of the spider guild was based on the ecological characteristic known for the
family (Young & Edwards 1990). Among the 70 species of spiders collected
from Kuttanad, 60% belongs to stalkers (30%) and orb weavers (30%). The
second dominant guilds are the ground runners and space web builders (11%
each). Ambushers (10%), sheet web builders (5%) and foliage runners (3%) are
the other ecological guilds of these spiders.
Spiders under the category stalkers actively jump over the prey for
feeding. Spiders of the family Salticidae and Oxyopidae show this type of
feeding behaviour. Oxyopidae represented by 6 species of a single genus and
Salticidae consisted of 15 species coming under 12 genera. Spiders of the orb
weavers guild construct perfect orb webs for prey capture. Families Araneidae (7
species), Tetragnathidae (12 species) and Uloboridae (2 species) constitute this
category.
Ground running spiders mainly feed on ground layer of the field and rarely
come to the foliage or canopy of the plant for prey capture. The families
279
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Lycosidae (6 species) and Scytodidae (2 species) come under this guild. Spiders
of the guild space web builders construct irregularly spaced webs for prey
capture. Belonging to this category are the families Pholcidae (2 species) and
Theridiidae (6 species). Ambushers show a “sit-and-wait” type of behaviour for
prey capture. Spiders of the families Philodromidae (1 species), Pisauridae (1
species) and Thomisidae (5 species) are members of this guild.
Foliage runners hunt on foliage for phytophagous insect pests. This guild
is formed of 2 families viz., Clubionidae and Miturgidae with one species each.
Spiders of the guild sheet web builders construct sheet like web for capture.
Only one family of paddy field spiders belong to this category namely,
Linyphiidae, with 3 species.
Discussion
The variation in spider diversity between the base of the plant and its
canopy was primarily due to the difference in position of their habitation in the
paddy field. The most common explanation for the observed pattern of spider
guild structure accounts for the effects of host crop, including its structural
diversity, micro environment and the level of disturbance (Young & Edwards
1990). The web building and plant wandering spiders rely on vegetation for
some part of their lives. The structure of the vegetation is therefore expected to
influence the diversity of spiders found in the habitat.
Habitat structure maintains diverse spider assemblages (Uetz 1991, Wise
1993) and may be critical to successful insect suppression (Riechert & Bishop
1990). Uetz (1991) suggested that structurally more complex shrubs can support
more diverse spider community. The physical structure of the environment has
an important influence on the habitat preferences of the spider species especially
web-building species. Choice of foraging habitat has been recognized as one of
primary importance through its effect on feeding rates, with derived benefits to
growth and reproduction.
Once in feeding patch, the spider is confronted with an array of potential
prey species. Since more than half of the predatory fauna in rice agroecosystem
are spiders and it is known that changes in spider density can impact pest
populations (Nyefeller et al. 1994), it would seem logical that the spider
community would be a key component of integrated pest management strategies.
In order to increase the emphasis on spiders as agents of biological control, it is
imperative to decipher exactly how crop growth stages that change the habitat
structure within relatively homogenous fields influence the density, diversity and
foraging behaviour of spiders. This will ultimately lead to the path of increased
food security.
280
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The taxonomy of the Haplogyne spider genus Siciarus has been piecemeal
with no unified systematic revision. We present a standardized analysis of
Sicarius systematics across a wide geographic range of taxon sampling from
Africa, Central and South America. We analyzed genetic structure in the lineage
using molecular phylogenetics of 28S, CO1, 16S and ND1. These analyses show
consistent support for many terminal clades, but little consistency of patterns of
relationships at deeper levels. We also investigated a wide range of somatic and
genitalic morphological characters. Out of all characters examined, genitalic
characters are the most helpful in differentiating species. We confidently assign
species names to most of the South American taxa, but are not confident about
assigning species names to any of our African taxa given the current
nomenclature. This work provides the basis for a future thorough systematic
revision.
281
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The Western Ghats is a chain of mountains running parallel to India’s
western coast, between the latitudes 8ºN to 20ºN and longitudes 73ºE to 77ºE.
They cover an area of about 160,000 km² and stretch for 1,600 km from the
country’s southern tip. Western Ghats supports some of the pristine forest
patches. The average height of the Ghats is 1500 m above sea level, but in the
southern reaches, it rises up to 2000 m and to exceptionally higher peaks of 2500
m and above. This area is one of the world's ten "Hottest biodiversity hotspots"
and at least 325 globally threatened species occur here (Myers et al. 2000). This
region exhibits very high level of endemism, which ranges from 75% in
amphibians to 40% in insects and hence, the Western Ghats is listed among the
34 biodiversity hotspots of the world (Mittermeier et al. 2005).
Although around 15% of the Western Ghats is protected in 20 national
parks and 68 sanctuaries, extremely high population pressure has seriously
stressed the region's biodiversity. Nearly 40 million people inhabit this hotspot,
at a density of 260 people/km² (one of the highest in hotspots) (Jha et al. 2000).
The forests of the Western Ghats have been selectively logged and highly
fragmented throughout the entire range. Forests have been converted to
agricultural lands for monoculture plantations and are also cleared for building
reservoirs, roads, and railways. Much of the remaining forest cover consists of
timber plantations or disturbed secondary growth. Due to the paucity of workers
and funds, a large share of spider diversity in the Western Ghats still remains
unexplored. As a result, the disappearance of many species is left
undocumented.
Studies on patterns of species richness, diversity and their spatial
distribution has widely been acknowledged as sine qua non for effective
conservation planning (Cushman & Mc Garigal 2003, 2004). Against this
backdrop, a study was conducted to document the araneofuana of the Kerala
region of Western Ghats, as well as to analyse their diversity, abundance and
ecology.
282
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
283
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Aiken M. & Coyle F.A. 2000. Habitat distribution, life history and behavior of
Tetragnatha spider species in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Journal of Arachnology, 28: 97-106.
Cushman S.A. & McGarigal K. 2003. Landscape-level patterns of avian diversity in
the Oregon Coast Range. Ecological Monographs, 73: 259-281.
Cushman S.A. & McGarigal. K. 2004. Hierarchical analysis of forest bird species
environment relationships in the Oregon Coast Range. Ecological
Applications, 14: 1090-1105.
IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1.
www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 18 September 2009.
Jha C.S., Dutt C.B.S. & Bawa K.S. 2000. Deforestation and land use changes in
Western Ghats, India. Current Science, 79: 231-238.
Ludwig J.A. & Reynolds J.F. 1998. Statistical Ecology: A primer on methods in
computing. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 352 pp.
Mittermeier R.A., Patricio R.G., Hoffman M., Pilgrim J., Brooks T., Mittermeier
C.G., Lamoreux J. &. Fonseca G.A.B. 2005. Hotspots revisited: Earth's
biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions.
Conservation International, pp. 1-432.
Myers N., Mittermeier R.A., Mittermeier C.G., Da Fonseca G.A.B. & Kent J. 2000.
Biodiversity Hotspots for Conservation Priorities. Nature, 403: 853-858.
Platnick N.I. 1991. Patterns of biodiversity: tropical vs. temperate. Journal of
Natural History, 25: 1083-1088.
Roberts C.M., Colin J.M. & John E.N., et al. 2002. Marine Biodiversity
Hotspots and Conservation Priorities for Tropical Reefs. Science, 295
(5558): 1280-1284.
Sebastian P.A., Mathew M.J., Pathummal Beevi S., Joseph J. & Biju C.R. 2005.
The Spider Fauna of the Irrigated Rice Ecosystem in Central Kerala, India
across Different Elevational Ranges. Journal of Arachnology, 33: 247-255.
284
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
285
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
286
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
287
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Some araneids with diploid numbers smaller than 2n=24, such as some
Neoscona species with 2n=14, presented predominantly biarmed chromosomes
in the karyotype, evidencing the occurrence of centric fusions. On the other
hand, Gasteracantha possess 2n=16 exclusively acro/telocentric chromosomes.
According with some literature proposals, tandem/centric fusion followed by
pericentric inversion from a karyotype with 2n♂=24 acro/telocentric
chromosomes are involved in the origin of the karyotype with 2n=16. Due to the
pericentric inversions, there is no metacentric chromosomes in the karyotype
with 2n=16, despite the chromosome number reduction.
288
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
289
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
290
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
291
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Brandão C.R.F., Cancello E.M. & Yamamoto C.I. 2000. Avalização do estado
do conhecimento da diversidade biológica do Brasil - invertebrados
terrestre - USP, Museu de Zoologia.
Brescovit A. 2009. Aranhas e araneísmo: uma curta historia das araneomorphae
peçonhentas da bahia. Gazeta Medica da Bahia, 79, 78.
Gibb H. & Hochuli D.F. 2002. Habitat fragmentation in an urban environment:
large and small fragments support different arthropod assemblages.
Biological Conservation, 106: 91-100.
Halaj J., Ross D.W. & Moldenke A.R. 1998. Habitat structure and prey
availability as predictors of the abundance and community organization of
spiders in western Oregon forest canopies. The Journal of Arachnology,
26:203-220.
Laurence W.F. & Vasconcelos H.L. 2009. Conseqüências ecológicas da
fragmentação florestal na Amazônia. Oecologia Brasiliensis, 13(3): 434-451.
Mcintyre N.E. 2000. Ecology of Urban Arthropods: A Review and a Call to
Action. Annals of the entomological society of America, 93.
Mcintyre N.E., Rang J., Fagan W.F. & Faeth S.H. 2001. Ground arthropod
community structure in a heterogeneous urban environment. Landscape
and Urban Planning, 52: 257-274.
Pickett S.T.A. & Cadenasso M.L. 2006. Advancing urban ecological studies:
frameworks, concepts, and results from the Baltimore ecosystem study.
Australian Ecology, 31(2): 114-125.
Pinto-Leite C.M., Guerrero A.C. & Brazil T.K. 2008. Non-random patterns of
spider species composition in an Atlantic rainforest. The Journal of
Arachnology, 36: 448-452.
Wise D.H. 1993. Spiders in Ecological Webs. Cambridge University,
Cambridge.
292
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
293
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Results
Altogether 1460 adult and 170 juvenile spider specimens were collected,
but also other invertebrates that fell into pitfall traps were recorded. Total spider
abundance and diversity did not differ according to the height from sea level.
The abundance of Lycosid spiders decreased significantly from floodplain
meadows towards coastal ones. This is probably not because the saltwater
influence but more likely due the different flooding regime and duration. The
abundance and diversity of spiders were not dependent on the abundances of
other arthropods as potential pray or other predators as potential competitors.
Significant differences occurred between managed and unmanaged sites, but the
pattern differed between meadow types. It is noteworthy that considering
different ecotypes of spiders in coastal meadows (eurytoecious, hygrophilous,
xerophilous etc.), the faunas of both unmanaged sites seems to be quite similar
whereas grazed sites were very different. This is probably because higher
vegetation in unmanaged sites that creates stable condition for spider community
and protects it against the floods. Vegetation in managed sites is very low and
the structure of spider fauna is more random.
In conclusion, spider fauna on flooded grasslands in Estonia consists
mainly of euryoecious species, but the community structure is dependent on the
characteristics of the inundation. The differences in spider diversity and
abundance between managed and unmanaged sites can be explained by different
vegetation structure.
294
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
295
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Michalik P. 2009. The male genital system of spiders (Araneae) with notes on
the fine structure of seminal secretions. Contributions to Natural History,
12: 959-972.
296
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Sperm is a costly and limited resource for males. In some spider species,
there is behavioural documentation that males permanently deplete all of their
lifetime sperm after a single mating. No study, however, has confirmed this
phenomenon by addressing the mechanistic bases of sperm depletion in spiders.
Here we evaluate permanent sperm depletion in the spider Nephila clavipes
using gross measurements and light and transmission electron microscopy of the
male genital system. Male testis size decreases as males approach their
maturation moult and reaches its lowest point after the first sperm induction. The
decrease in testis size corresponds to the maturation process of the sperm and a
subsequent absence of testis tissue devoted to sperm production as males mature
and age. Spermatogenesis occurs only during the young male sub-adult stage,
and no male testes produce sperm after the terminal moult. Permanent sperm
depletion has implications for the evolution of male mating strategies and male
terminal investment strategies in spiders.
297
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Department of venomous animals and antivenom production, Razi Vaccine and Serum
Research Institute, Karaj, Iran, abbas.zare8@gmail.com
Hundreds of people suffer from spider bite yearly in Iran. Reports from
hospitals in Khorasan province indicate the serious cases of spider bites which
some cases lead to death in children. The duration of treatment varies from few
days to two weeks in hospital. In the present work the venom of spider was
extracted by removing the venom glands from spider Latrodectus
tredecimguttatus and dissolved in distilled water. LD50 of the venom was
determined and found to be 18.5 when the venom extraction was carried out in
4C. Two healthy horses were selected for immunization and the antigen was
prepared using complete and non complete Frunds adjuvant. Immunization of
horses were carried out for the first time in 9 injection protocol and the titer of
antivenom was found to be 315 LD50 while when second time immunization
was carried out in 5 series of injection the titer of antivenom was found to be
762 LD50. The specific tests for standardization of antivenom was carried
according to WHO recommended parameters. The total protein of product was
estimated to be 2.76% and dry weight was 4.09%. PH and phenol content of
product was adjusted to 6.75 and 1.5g/l respectively. Pyrogeny test indicated that
the product is free of endotoxins and pyrogenic factors. In conclusion the
laboratory scale of spider antivenom production showed that there is possibility
of producing safe and effective anivenom against medically important spiders of
Iran.
298
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
299
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
300
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Spiders are one of the most diverse and abundant arthropod predators in
terrestrial ecosystems, and they often determine population and community
structures at lower trophic levels. In particular, insect pests for agricultural crops
are believed to be kept at low densities by spiders. These characteristics led
researchers to examine the effects of environmental factors on species richness
and abundance of spiders in various ecosystems. However, most studies were
conducted either in small-scale experimental settings, or by using descriptive
statistics that examined the relationship between spider richness/abundance and
local environmental measures. Here we investigated how species richness and
abundance of grassland-dwelling spiders are determined in multi-scale contexts
in a typical agricultural landscape in Japan, which consists mostly of rice fields
and secondary forests. Because mosaic structure of the landscape is considered
to increase species richness, we expected that spiders are more diverse in the
grasslands with an intermediate level of forest surroundings.
We have chosen 35 sampling sites on Sado island, the largest island of
Japan; each site being located at least 500 m apart from another. We collected
spiders inhabiting grasslands by sweeping, and recorded local vegetation
structure (plant height, plant species composition). To identify factors
determining species richness and abundance of spiders, we used GLIM (error
distribution was either Poisson or negative binomial) that includes two local
variables (plant height and PCA of plant composition) and three landscape
variables (forest cover, square of forest cover, and residual of the forest-edge
length from forest cover). Because it was not possible to determine the spatial
scale in advance, we searched for the appropriate scale by 1) generating different
sizes of buffer circles around the focal site, 2) calculating percentage of forest
cover within a buffer circle, and 3) selected the best model on the basis of AIC
(Akaike’s information criterion).
Species richness of spiders exhibited the lowest AIC with a 400m buffer
radius, and the best model at this scale included forest cover, the square of forest
cover, and residual of forest-edge length. Species richness showed a peak with
around 60% forest cover, and increased with increasing forest-edge length. Total
abundance of spiders showed a similar pattern. When analyzed separately for
each species, 6 out of 8 species exhibited a peak at intermediate levels of forest
cover, and one species each showed a monotonic increase and decrease with
301
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
increasing forest cover, respectively. Local factors were mostly unimportant for
determining species richness and abundance of spiders. The reason why
intermediate levels of forest surroundings favoured species richness and
abundance is not clear, but we speculate that prey abundance is higher or
temporarily more stable where two ecosystems (rice fields and forests) meet
with a moderately ratio, thereby enhancing local density of each species and
species richness as a result.
In summary, species richness and abundance of grass-dwelling spiders are
largely determined by landscape-level factors, and mosaic structures of a
landscape seemed to have an important role.
302
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
303
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Spariolenus Simon, 1880 is one of the rarest genera of the spider family
Sparassidae with just few species described so far. Currently, six nominal
species of the genus are reported from Asia.
Sparassids of Iran have been poorly investigated with just three recorded
species. During surveys in semiarid parts of Iran (caves as well as river banks),
three morphologically different specimens of the genus were encountered.
Results from investigations of somatical and copulatory characters as well as
analyzing CO-I sequences will be presented as well as a discussion about the
species status of the new forms.
The cave-dwelling species, Spariolenus sp. 1, are impressive giant spiders
and have leg spans up to 15 cm. The other two species were caught from
crevices in rocks near river banks. In this study, the subfamily Heteropodinae is
recorded for the first time from Iran.
Representatives of Heteropodinae are common inhabitants of subtropical
and tropical forests of Africa (Barylestis), Asia (Barylestis, Bhutaniella,
Heteropoda, Martensopoda, Pandercetes, Pseudopoda, Sinopoda, Spariolenus)
and Australia (Heteropoda, Pandercetes, Yiinthi). Occurring of the members of
Heteropodinae in the current arid and semiarid areas suggests that the region
used to be humid in former times. After vanishing of the ancient tropical forest
in the territory of the today’s Iran, the relict populations retreated into places like
caves as remaining suitable (=humid) habitats. Taxonomy and zoogeography of
the current species in relation to other species of the genus are discussed.
304
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
305
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Very little has been published about the interrelationships of the ca. 60
species of Ricinulei. Here we present a molecular data set based on multiple
markers for the entire distribution range of the group to generate the first
molecular phylogeny of Ricinulei in order to test the monophyly of the three
genera, Ricinoides in west Africa, and Cryptocellus – Pseudocellus in the
Neotropical region. We use this phylogeny to discuss biogeographic aspects of
this group of arachnids with low vagility and compare it to other studies of
arachnids that overlap with Ricinulei in their distribution range.
306
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The genus Nurscia Simon, 1874 contains only 4 described species
distributed in Palaearctic (Platnick 2010). Two species of Nurscia sympatrically
occur in Crimea: Nurscia albomaculata (Lucas, 1846) and N. albosignata
Simon, 1874. N. albomaculata is distributed from Europe to Central Asia, N.
albosignata – from Bulgaria and Cyprus to Central Asia. Males of these species
well differ by length of palps. However, identification of the females is very
difficult, because their epigynes are similar. Comparative identification drawings
for these species were never published.
Results
Males of these species well differ by the length of the palp (shorter than
carapace in N. albomaculata and longer than carapace in N. albosignata), by the
teeth on hooked tibial apophysis (long in N. albomaculata and short in N.
albosignata), and by the shape of embolus (straight in N. albomaculata and
curved in N. albosignata).
Females are well distinguished by the shape of epigynal median plate,
narrow in N. albomaculata and wide in N. albosignata. Septum in N.
albomaculata is three times longer then wide; septum in N. albosignata is as
long as wide in posterior part. Margins of epigynal septum are parallel in N.
albomaculata, and curved and not parallel in N. albosignata.
These species do not differ by habitats and are frequently found in the
same biotopes. Both species are found in some kinds of steppe and in salt
marshes. However, these two species differ by phenology. The peaks of
abundance for both species are in July, but males and females of N.
albomaculata were collected since May, and males of N. albosignata – since
June, females – from July. So, activity of N. albomaculata starts one month
earlier than of N. albosignata. The latest males of both species were collected in
307
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Discussion
It is interesting when two related species, occurring sympatrically, do not
differ in geography and habitat, but only in phenology.
References
Platnick N.I. 2010. The world spider catalog, version 11.0. American Museum of
Natural History, http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/.
308
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
309
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
310
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
7
The study was supported by grants IGA-AF-MZLU-SP2100101/224 and VaV-MZP-
CR-SP/2D4/59/07.
311
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
312
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
between the Orinoco and Amazonas basins. The climate of the region can be
classified as tropical humid, with an annual average rainfall of 2.500-3.000
mm/year, an average temperature of 25° and 85-90% of humidity, with little
variation through the year. With increasing elevation, there is an increase in
rainfall and humidity and a decrease in temperature, and, in the highlands (>
1.800 m) of the region, the rainfall decreases and is replaced by a constant mist,
with humidity reaching almost 100%. In those altitudes, temperature can drop to
an average of 10° in the coolest month. Vegetation of the lowlands is mainly
composed by a tall, evergreen forest, being gradually replaced by submontane
(400 to 800 m), montane (800 to 1.500 m) and upper-montane forest (1.500 to
2.000 m) (Huber 1995). Higher altitudes present more open types of vegetation,
such as high-altitude meadows and grasslands.
Spiders were collected in September/October 2007, with a beating tray,
during the day, and through manual active searching, during the night. Sample
unit of the first method correspond to the investigation, with a beating tray, of 20
small trees, or shrubs, or other components of the vegetation. Sample unit of the
second method correspond to one hour of search along a 30 m long transect. All
spiders obtained with those two methods were conserved in alcohol at 70%.
Adult spiders were sorted in morphospecies and identified to the most accurate
taxonomic level possible. We sampled at six different altitudes, 100, 400, 860,
1.550, 2.000 and 2.400 m.a.s.l., and in each altitude we investigated three
different sites. In each site the sampling effort corresponded to 9 diurnal and 9
nocturnal samples, which lead us to an amount of 54 samples by altitude (27
diurnal and 27 nocturnal), and to the final count of 324 samples (172 of each
method). We also measured the temperature at each sampled site.
We used a Monte Carlo simulation to generate the richness pattern
expected by MDE predictions, and tested the Rapoport effect with a simple
linear regression, relating for each species the size of their range with their
weighted altitudinal midpoint (calculated as the number of individuals in each
altitude, multiplied by the altitude value, and divided by the total abundance of
the species, a.k.a. specimen method). Finally, we performed an NMDS to verify
the similarity of spider communities from all the sampled sites.
We obtained 2.950 adult spiders (1.896 females and 1.054 males), divided
into 469 species. Since the match of males and females was very hazardous in
most cases, results presented below refer only to females, which accounted for
almost two thirds of adult individuals and were sorted to 349 species. The mean
richness (i.e. the mean richness of the three sites sampled by altitude) and
standard deviation by altitude are presented below, with the total richness by
altitude in brackets: 100 m, 62,6±7 (141); 400 m, 51,3±6 (121); 860 m, 54,3±5
(119); 1.550 m, 42±6 (79); 2.000 m, 14,3±4 (37); 2.400, 9,6±4 (18). Thus,
richness decreased along the gradient, and presented a very poor fit with the
richness predicted by the MDE (R2=0,2497; p>0,1). The Rapoport Effect
couldn’t be observed either, since the relation between the size of the range and
the weighted average midpoint was also very weak and non-significant (R2=2.7,
p >0.01). The richness distribution pattern exhibited by the community is clearly
non-random, and seems to be very influenced by environmental factors, notably
313
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
temperature. Our gradient presents a plateau of high diversity in the three first
altitudes, with a small decrease in the fourth altitude and a steeper decrease in
the fifth altitude. Several studies indicates that the structural complexity of the
environment have a positive relationship with the diversity of spiders, which
would explain the large number of species found at the first altitudes. So, the
lower richness of the last two altitudes would be a consequence of a less
complex environment, with open types of vegetation, and also of a harsher
climate. We believe that this environmental disruption in our gradient was also
one of the causes of the absence of a Rapoport Effect in our community, since
the species from forested sites would have difficulties to expand their ranges
upward, at non-forested and cooler sites, while the species adapted to those high-
altitude environments couldn’t expand their range downward. So, species
distributed at higher altitudes would have shorter ranges, while species from
forested sites could have larger ranges, but at lower altitudes, the opposite of
what is predicted by the Rapoport Effect.
The changes observed in the composition, however, revealed an
unexpected pattern, since the fourth altitude (1.550 m) was associated with the
higher sites, despite the structural difference between them. It indicates that the
temperature may have an important role as limiting factor for many forest
species, and the decrease in richness observed at 1.550 when compared with the
other forested sites seems to confirm that. Anyway, the similarity between the
faunas from the three last altitudes, revealed by the NMDS (Stress=0.17), seems
to be very influenced by a few dominant species.
Finally, the structure of the community, defined here as the dominance
and proportion of rare species (singletons and doubletons), goes through very
important changes along the gradient. Community from the first altitude
presented a very low dominance and a very large proportion of rare species (the
dominant specie represented 4% of the total abundance, while the rare species
represented 24%), and, as altitude increase, there is an increase in the dominance
and a decrease in the importance of rare species. As a consequence, the last
altitude presented a very different community, where the dominant specie
accounted for 55% of the total abundance, while the rare species only 9%. So, at
least some of the changes observed in the spider community of the Pico da
Neblina along the gradient, notably the richness pattern and the structure of the
community, seems to be in agreement with the changes observed in spiders
communities along the latitudinal gradient.
314
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
315
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Maria Oleszczuk
Institute for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań,
Poland, oleszczukm@vp.pl
The studies of local (distance from forest belt and crop type) and
landscape (heterogeneous and homogenous landscape) factor’s influence on
spider density and diversity in the crop fields of winter cereals, sugar beet and
alfalfa are presented. The samples were taken with biocenometer from the area
of 0.25 m2 (10 samples in one site) twice a year for three consecutive years.
The spider density were between 0.4 to 5.2 ind./1 m2. Statistically
important difference in spider density and number of species were noted
between winter cereal crop in homogenous landscape and sugar beet crop in
homogenous landscape and sugar beet crop in heterogeneous landscape.
The proximity of forest belts positively influenced spider species diversity
in the studied crop fields. In the distance of 10 m from forest belts 14 spider
species in cereal crops and 8 species in sugar beet crops were noted. In the
distance of 50 m nine and five spider species respectively were recorded. The
exception was the alfalfa crop, were the number of spider species has not been
changed with the distance for the forest belts. However, the above differences
were not statistically important.
The influence of landscape type and the distance from forest belts on the
share of ecological groups of spiders was analyzed. In the landscape with forest
belts larger part of foliage-dwelling spiders than aeronautic spider species was
noted, and in the homogenous landscape the tendency was opposite. The
distance from forest belts has not changed essentially the share of ecological
groups of spiders.
316
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Nuptial prey gifts are known in various groups of spiders and insects. For
example in Pisaura mirabilis (Clerck, 1757) the prey gift works as a sensory
trap where the male exploits the female's foraging motivation in a sexual context
(Stálhandske 2001, Bilde et al. 2007).
At present time only two species of Cheiracanthidae (Cheiracanthium
japonicum Bösenberg & Strand, 1906 and C. virescens (Sundevall, 1833)) are
known from continental Southern Far East of Russia (Mikhailov 1997). Our
observations were carried out in Maritime Province near the Gornotaezhnoe
biological station of the Russian Academy of Science (43º41'42.77"N,
132º09'25.48"E) in June of 2004.
During mating season the males of C. japonicum wander on upper leaves
of herbaceous plants, low trees and bushes and try to found females. The females
make their shelters on grasses. They roll part of the leaf into a short tube and
cover openings by the web. When a male find out the female’s shelter it settles
there and constructs its own refuge. Male’s shelter is a light semi-transparent
marquee located above female’s shelter.
The observations of the mortal combat and nuptial display are based on
single case by this time. First spider detected and met newcomer one rather far
from the female’s shelter. When the spiders approached to each other they had
menacing poses and started to spin around the stem with spread first pair of legs
and chelicerae. A demonstration of menacing poses was going on a little less 1
minute. During this time each spider both spiders were trying to near to its rival
from one side. When the males approached so mach close to each other that
were almost touching by its chelicerae the first one very fast rushed in attack and
pierced the second spider’s cephalothorax. Hereon the fighting was finished
instantly and the killed one became rigid at once. The victorious spider was
standing at that place and holding the dead motionless rival. Then it lifted the
corpse up and brought to the shelter where the female was hiding. There male
stayed approximately 4 minutes as though making a demonstration of the dead
body to female. Afterwards it hung the corpse at the side of the shelter on a short
thread for approximately 5 minutes. Then it threw it down and had gone to its
own shelter. The all event since meeting with the newcomer spider up to the
moment when the corpse was thrown took 15 minutes.
8
The work supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant #10-04-01424-а).
317
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
At present time it isn’t clear for me which function the display of the
corpse is performing. The female doesn’t neither eat the loser’s body nor change
its behaviour in any way so this nuptial gift cannot be something like a sensory
trap in other groups of spiders. Conducting an investigation in nature and
laboratory to solve this question of behaviour of C. japonicum is planned.
References
Bilde T., Tuni C., Elsayed R., Pekar S. & Toft S. 2007. Nuptial gifts of male
spiders: sensory exploitation of the female's maternal care instinct or
foraging motivation? Animal Behaviour, 73: 267-273.
Mikhailov K.G. 1997. Catalogue of the spiders of the territories of the former
Soviet Union (Arachnida, Aranei). Trudy Zoologicheskogo Muzeya
MGU, 37: 1-416.
Stálhandske P. 2002. Nuptial gifts of male spiders function as sensory traps.
Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 269: 905-908.
318
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Hirotsugu Ono
National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan, ono@kahaku.go.jp
After the opening of the Samurai country to the West urged by the Meiji
Restoration around 1868, European researchers were active in spider collecting
in Japan, such as Albrecht von Roretz (1846-1884) from Austria (the length of
his stay in Japan: eight years between 1874 and 1882), Franz Hilgendorf (1839-
1904) from Germany (three years in Japan, 1873-1876), A. (?Anatole) Mellottée
from France (1881-1882 in Japan) and Friedrich Karl Wilhelm Dönitz (1838-
1912) from Estonia (1873-1886 in Japan). Having described thirty-one species
based on Roretz Collection in Wien, Ludwig Koch (1878) took the lead in
reporting Japanese spiders. Since then, about 1500 species of 64 families were
recorded from this country [Karsch (1879, 1881), Simon (1886, 1889),
Bösenberg and Strand (1906), Kishida (1909, 1914), Saito (1934, 1939),
Nakatsudi (1937, 1942), Oi (1960), Yaginuma (1960), Komatsu (1961), Okuma
(1988) and further works of many arachnologists]. The spider fauna of Japan is
biogeographically surveyed here on the basis of results of these taxonomical
studies continuing for 130 years, which are integrated into a volume of ‘The
Spiders of Japan’ recently published (Ono 2009). Some general and extreme
examples of distribution are shown. A difference of species diversity between
the Ryukyu Islands (Southwest) and the Izu Ogasawara Islands (Southeast) is
made clear based on some aspects referring to the geological history of the
Japanese islands.
319
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
320
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
former phylogenetic analyses to include for the first time samples of M. cretica
and Macrothele from China and Central Africa, as well as new samples of M.
calpeiana from Italy and Portugal. Phylogenetic relationships of Macrothele
were inferred from a combined data set including the nuclear ribosomal genes
18S and 28S and the protein gene EF1gamma. Population analyses were based
on the mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase I and a fragment expanding the
ribosomal 16S, the tRNA leucine and the NADH dehydrogenase subunit I.
Results of these analyses bring new light on the origins and evolutionary
relationships of European Macrothele and provide essential information for
conservation planning and management of these unique elements of the
European fauna.
321
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
322
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Department of Natural Sciences, Hostos Community College of the City University of New
York, New York, NY, USA, vio@hostos.cuny.edu, zakharov@amnh.org
323
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Biokovo Mt. (1762 m), with relatively small surface of 200 km2, is
situated in Central Dalmatia (Croatia) and belongs to the Dinaride Mountains.
Very similar to Velebit Mt. and Orjen Mt., Biokovo was under continental
glacial and Mediterranean influence. Due to extremely karstification, unique
geomorphologic features, biodiversity and endemicity, Biokovo was declared as
Nature Park in 1981.
Biospeleological research in region began in the first decades of 20th
century but most intensive systematic research was performed between 2002-
2006 with cooperation of Biokovo Nature Park and Croatian Biospeleological
Society. During that period 115 speleological objects have been researched
through 192 visits. Five biogeographical zones are recognized on Biokovo Mt.,
with many different cave habitats. A total of 186 different taxa have been
recorded that show some cave-dwelling affinities. Endemism of cave-dwelling
fauna is extremely high, even 65 taxa are endemic for Biokovo Mt. and further
47 taxa are endemic for Dinarides. Until now, 44 taxa new for science have been
recognized.
Among them, 57 cave-dwelling taxa belong to Arachnids: Acari (7),
Palpigradi (1), Pseudoscorpiones (23), Opiliones (4) and Araneae (22). All cave-
dwelling arachnid taxa are endemic for Dinarides, 23 taxa are endemic for
Biokovo Mt. with at least 20 new for science. Most representative genus are:
Rhagidia, Opilioacaris, Eukoenenia, Chthonius (Chthonius), Chthonius
(Globochthonius), Chthonius (n. subg.), Troglochthonius, Protoneobisium,
Neobisium (Neobisium), Neobisium (Blothrus), Neobisium (Ommatoblothrus),
Roncus, Cyphophthalmus, Folkia, Stalagtia, Mesostalita, Barusia, Sulcia,
Stygopholcus, Centromerus, Typhlonyphia, Histopona.
It seems that Biokovo Mt. is a hot spot of arachnid cave-dwelling fauna,
but also development centre for some phylletic lines of families Chthoniidae and
Neobisiidae (Pseudoscorpiones), same as Dysderidae and Leptonetidae
(Araneae). Further systematic research on Biokovo Mt. will continue on cave-
dwelling, but also on soil and surface arachnid fauna.
324
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The Ramsar Convention, signed in 1971, recognized for the first time, at
international level, the ecological values of wetland habitats and the importance
of their conservation. These habitats are characterized by the presence of high
bio-diverse ecosystems that harbour species with relevant conservation value,
especially among birds, amphibians and plants. Studies aiming to monitor the
present state of conservation of these habitats are essential to evaluate their on-
going degradation, strictly related to agricultural intensification, land
reclamation, urbanization, pollution and global warming.
Despite the huge diversity of spiders and their great potential for bio-
diagnostic purposes in wetland biodiversity assessment (Cristofoli et al. 2010),
studies on spider communities are generally lacking. To give two examples of
the extraordinary spider biodiversity of wetland ecosystems, Villepoux (1993)
recorded 177 species in wetlands of the Rhine valley and Patocchi (1993) 171
species in riparian habitats in Switzerland. When considering the Italian fauna,
the lack of studies on this topic is particularly striking. At regional level for
example, the only contributions given on this topic in Piedmont are the work of
Isaia et al. (2005) and two more works on riparian habitats by Arnò (2001) and
Beikes et al. (2004). Furthermore, wetlands may harbour peculiar species whose
conservation is closely related to the survival of such ecosystems. An example is
provided by the fen raft spider (Dolomedes plantarius), whose presence in Italy
is only recorded from a few localities (Pavesi 1873, 1879: Lombardia;
Pesarini1994: Sardinia; Hansen 2002, 2007: Veneto), without any information
on the state of conservation of the habitat. The importance of this species is
underlined by the fact that Dolomedes plantarius is among the few species of
spiders cited in the IUCN European Red List (“vulnerable”), for which
conservation measures are required, especially considering the decline in area of
occupancy, the extent of occurrence and the quality of habitat and the effects of
introduced taxa, hybridisation, pathogens, pollutants, competitors or parasites.
Our recent finding of this species in the Natural Reserve of Fondotoce
(North-Eastern Piedmont) in the framework of a preliminary research founded
by the Reserve itself, induced us to develop an extensive three-years project in
collaboration with the Regional Museum of Natural Science of Turin. The
research started with a preliminary ecological analysis of the Natural Reserve of
Fondotoce, focusing especially on spiders, with special reference to the
environmental evaluation of the habitat, on the presence of stenoecious species,
on the relation species-habitat, on the structure of spider communities and on
specific turnover across different habitats. Spiders were collected by means of
325
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
326
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Arnò C. 2001. Ragni dell’area protetta “Fascia fluviale del Po”: nota preliminare
su tre specie nuove per l’Italia e una nuova per il Piemonte (Arachnida,
Araneae). Rivista piemontese di storia naturale, 22: 155-164.
Beikes S., Isaia M., Bona F. & Badino G. 2004. Analisi ecologica
dell'araneofauna di fasce riparie di tratti fluviali a differente livello di
funzionalità. XIV Convegno Nazionale della Società Ecologica Italiana,
Siena, 4-6 ottobre 2003, p. 45.
Cristofoli S., Mahya G., Kekenbosch R. & Lambeets K. 2010. Spider
communities as evaluation tools for wet heathland restoration. Ecological
Indicators, 10: 773-780.
Hansen H. 2002. Segnalazioni 21 – Scytodes velutina, …, Segnalazioni 40 –
Philaeus chrysops. Bollettino del Museo civico di Storia Naturale di
Venezia, 53: 268-272.
Hansen H. 2007. Stato attuale della conoscenza della fauna dei ragni presente
nel territorio della laguna di Venezia e nelle aree limitrofe (Arachnida:
Araneae). Bollettino del Museo civico di Storia Naturale di Venezia, 58:
11-82.
Isaia M., Bonelli S., Montani M., Badino G. & Balletto E. 2005. Spiders
(Arachnida, Araneae) of a Maculinea alcon - M. teleius pSCI in NW Italy.
In: Settele J., Kuhn E. & Thomas J.A. (eds.), Studies on the Ecology and
conservation of Butterflies in Europe, vol. 2: Species ecology along a
European Gradient: Maculinea Butterflies as a model, 9-15. Pensoft
Publishers, Sofia-Moscow.
Patocchi N. 1993. I ragni della Valle Maggia: studio faunistico ecologico delle zone
alluvionali. Memorie Società Ticinese di Scienze Naturali, 3: 209-267.
Pavesi P. 1873. Enumerazione dei ragni dei dintorni di Pavia. Atti della Società
Italiana di scienze naturali, 16: 68-78.
Pavesi P. 1879. Saggio di una fauna aracnologica del Varesotto. Atti della
Società Italiana di scienze naturali, 21: 789-817.
Pesarini C. 1994. Arachnida Araneae. In: Minelli A., Ruffo S. & La Posta S.
(eds.), Check-list delle specie della fauna italiana 23. Calderini, Bologna.
Villepoux O. 1993. Etude de la rèpartition des araignèes d’une zone humide.
Proc. 14th Eur. Colloq. of Arachnology. Catania, Bollettino
dell’Accademia Gioenia di Scienze Naturali, 26: 361-370.
327
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Barbara M. Patoleta
Barbara M. Patoleta
Before this project started, 36 salticid species were recorded from Fiji
(Karsch 1878, 1879, Roewer 1944, Prószyński 1984, Żabka 1988, Berry et al.
1996, 1997, 1998). As the result of my study (Patoleta 2002 unpubished PhD
thesis, 2008a, 2008b), 49 species were recorded from the archipelago.
The Fiji archipelago is of volcanic origin and its fauna is largely the result
of influence of Indopacific (54%) and widespread (36%) genera. The most
interesting is high endemism of species (53%), being the result of geological
history and isolation. The archipelago seems to be the centre of speciation for
same genera e.g. Xenocytaea, Cytaea, Sobasina and Palpelius.
328
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
329
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
330
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Comb-footed spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae) rank fifth (out of 109
families) in terms of extant spider diversity, with 2297 species in 112 genera
(Platnick 2010) and form the most species rich spider family in the fossil record
(Dunlop et al. 2010). This is due to their regular occurrence in Cenozoic ambers
(Marusik & Penney 2004, Penney 2008), but they are unknown from the
Mesozoic (Selden & Penney 2010). They represent the most diverse spider
family in Miocene Dominican amber, with 38 named species (Penney 2008),
most of which were described by Wunderlich (1988), who also described a
mature male specimen of Craspedisia Simon. He considered it too poorly
preserved to diagnose sufficiently to assign a species name. Only three extant
Craspedisia have been described: C. cornuta (Keyserling) from Brazil; C.
spatulata Bryant from Hispaniola and C. longioembolia Yin et al. from China
(Levi 1963, Yin et al. 2003). They are easily identified by their small size,
prominent clypeal projection and their heavily sclerotized epigastric region.
However, their pedipalps are rather variable. The species described from China
by Yin et al. (2003) differs to such an extent from the generotype, including in
the structure and location of the clypeal projection, that it is probably misplaced
in Craspedisia.
331
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Taxonomy
Theridiidae Sundevall, 1833
Pholcommatinae Simon, 1894
Craspedisia Simon, 1894
Craspedisia sp. (to be diagnosed and named)
Craspedisia sp. Wunderlich, 1988: 147, fig. 343.
Description
Proholotype male. Total length 2.0 mm, carapace punctate, raised in the
ocular area. Eight eyes: AME largest, lateral eyes contiguous. Clypeus twice
diameter of AME, with a highly distinctive projection, covered with short setae
(not resolved by computed tomography). The clypeal projection does not have a
downwards-curved tip as in the extant species. Sternum punctate, maxillae not
converging, chelicerae unmodified, dentition not visible. Legs without
modifications, relatively short for a theridiid spider, covered with fine setae and
with a long proximal and distal spine dorsally on each patella and tibia (tibia of
third leg with one spine); tarsi with three claws, tarsal comb on fourth leg
indistinct. Pedipalp structure not clearly visible, nor was it possible to
reconstruct sufficiently well with computed tomography. However, there is a
distinct, long, thick embolus arising retrolaterally (clearly visible in the
proparatype). Abdomen globular, with four heavily sclerotized dorsal sigillae
and many tiny scerotized dots (possibly pits bearing setae) over entire surface.
Epigastric region with heavily sclerotized covering extending around pedicel.
332
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Spinnerets without modifications, but with distinct colulus and anal tubercle.
Female unknown.
Distribution. Miocene Dominican amber forest.
Discussion
Based on both pedipalp and somatic morphology the new fossil species is
most closely related to C. spatulata, which occurs on Hispaniola today, and so
makes sense in terms of geography. C. cornuta differs from both the
aforementioned species by having a shorter embolus, the carapace raised in the
posterior region, and in possessing a longer and more curved clypeal projection.
The discovery of yet another fossil species from an extant genus in the fossil
Dominican amber assemblage that has its closest relative in the extant Hispaniolan
fauna, demonstrates the great antiquity of components of at least this neotropical
ecosystem. Many lineages appear to have survived with little change despite
proposed glacial episodes in the region (although the degree to which these
affected the Greater Antilles is unclear). While the fossil and extant spider faunas
are extremely similar at family (and in large part genus) level (Penney & Pérez-
Gelabert 2002, Penney 2008), there are some differences in other groups. Poinar
(1999) proposed that the demise of certain groups known from Dominican amber
but absent from the Greater Antilles today resulted from a cool period associated
with increased aridity during the Plio-Pleistocene, although Peñalver & Grimaldi
(2006) suggested that the insularization of Hispaniola was probably more
important. Assuming that this neotropical assemblage has remained relatively little
changed for the majority of the last 16 million years (and possibly much longer),
the rapid rate by which humankind is depleting tropical forest cover globally is
cause for immediate and great concern.
Acknowledgements
Peter Jäger (SMF) is thanked for the loan of the proparatype. Dmitri
Logunov (Manchester Museum) is thanked for access to resources and we are
grateful to Dr Chris Martin (University of Manchester) for X-ray imaging
support.
References
Dunlop J.A., Penney D. & Jekel D. 2010. A summary list of fossil spiders. In:
Platnick N.I. (2010): The world spider catalog, version 10.5. AMNH,
online at: http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html.
Green D.I. 2005. Digital combination photography: A technique for producing
improved images of microscopic minerals. Australian Journal of
Mineralogy, 11: 13-24.
Levi H.W. 1963. The spider genera Cerocida, Hetschkia, Wirada and
Craspedisia (Araneae: Theridiidae). Psyche, 70: 170-179.
Marusik Y.M., Penney D. 2004. A survey of Baltic amber Theridiidae (Araneae)
inclusions, with descriptions of six new species. Arthropoda Selecta,
Special Issue, 1: 201-218.
333
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
334
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
In order to achieve reproductive success, animals use courtship to
establish intersexual communication (Robinson 1982, Huber 2005, Peretti et al.
2006). Spiders’ diverse mating systems can be seen as a mechanism of
reproductive isolation (Foelix 1996). Courtship in spiders is formed by ritualized
patterns that are important to reduce female aggressiveness and stimulate sexual
excitement (Robinson 1982, Schneider & Lubin 1998).
Nuptial gifts consist on any form of nutrient transference by the male to
the female during any stage of the copula and it is best known in insects (Vahed
1998). The occurrence in spiders is rare and has been studied almost exclusively
in Pisaura mirabilis (Pisauridae) (Austad & Thornhill 1986, Drengsgaard & Toft
1999, Stålhandske 2001, Bilde et al. 2007). More recently it was also reported
for Paratrechalea ornata and Paratrechalea galianoae (Trechaleidae) by Costa-
Schmidt et al. (2008). Nuptial gifts have been thought as male mating effort,
insurance against cannibalism and parental investment (Stålhandske 2001, Bilde
et al. 2007), but these hypotheses are not excluded (Stålhandske 2001).
Thaumasia sp. nov. represents the first record for nuptial gift in Brazilian
Pisauridae, and the aims of this study are: describe the reproductive behaviour of
Thaumasia sp. nov.; analyze the importance of the nuptial gift for the courtship
and mating; and verify whether the size of the nuptial gift has any influence on
the duration of the copula and in the spiderling production.
Methods
Thaumasia sp. nov. has body length from 7 to 11mm, brownish colour
with lateral white stripes surrounding the body. White spots are found in the
abdomen and the ventral part of the abdomen is white. The sexes are similar in
size and colouration. It is semi-aquatic species and although has nocturnal
habits, it can be found on aquatic plants during the daylight. This species is
being described by Estevam L.C. Silva and Arno A. Lise.
The specimens were collected in pounds of Brasília, central Brazil, in
January and March 2007 and February and June, 2008. The juvenile spiders
were reared in laboratory (20-22ºC) separately in plastic vials, and fed ad libitum
with Leurolestes circunvagans.
Having reached the sexual maturity, the spiders were separated into three
groups of 30 individuals each (15 couples by group) according to the prey size
(Leurolestes circunvagans) to be used by the male as nuptial gift. All prey items
were measured. The males from group A was deprived from prey items, group B
received a small prey item (body length 1-7 mm) and males from group C
335
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
received large preys (8 - 24 mm). As a courting arena we used a glass tank (50
cm x 30 cm x 40 cm) with water (15 cm depth) and two pieces of Styrofoam
glued to each end of the tank were used as solid substrate. Females were
introduced first at one end of the tank and the males were introduced 24 hours
after the females at the opposite end. Ten minutes after introducing the males,
the prey item was offered. The experiments had duration of 1 hour per time
started to be counted right after the prey introduction. At the end of each
experiment the arena was completely cleaned, the water changed and the
Styrofoam pieces washed. The experiments were held in the evening at the same
time (07.00 pm) and were filmed. The individuals were used only once, and then
preserved and measured.
Results
Reproductive behaviour
We did not observe the sperm induction or the males touching the
females’ draglines. The courtship started as soon as the male captured the prey.
Once this happened he began to shake the body and this movement produced
concentric waves. Then the male went to the solid substrate with the prey in its
chelicerae and started moving the body up and down and, at the same time,
moved around the female in little jumps. It also shook its abdomen alternating
this movement with taps against the substrate with the legs I and II. He also
rubbed the legs I and II or II and III. Then the male placed itself in front of the
female with legs I raised up and flexed back. The female responded rubbing its
legs II. This movement was copied by the male. It, then, moved towards the
female touching her with his first legs. Female remained with legs I raised up
and flexed back.
The next step was the making of the nuptial gift. The male put the prey on
the substrate and started to cover it with layers of silk while doing this the male
never lost contact with the female touching her with his legs. While covering the
prey with silk the male would press it against the substrate with his palps. Then,
he plucked the gift out, placed himself in front of the female assuming a
hyperflexed position exposing the gift in its chelicerae. The female would grab
the gift and the copula started. The couple assumed a lateral position where the
male in the first palpal insertion placed its prosoma right beside the female
opisthosoma and she did just the opposite. This position was inverted for the
second papal insertion. The first separation was done by the male, but the end of
the copula was always the female prerogative. The female kept the present
during the whole copula.
Experiments on the role of nuptial gift
Males from the group A (without preys) do not show courtship or copula
behaviours. Males from the groups B and C that have lost their prey for the
females did not court them or interrupted the courtship (n=3).
There were nine successful copulas in the group B resulting in five egg
sacs, the average copula duration was 55.9 s and the total number of spider lings
was 6914. For the group C, four copulas were successful resulting in four egg
336
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
sacs, the average copula duration was 80.8 s and the total number of spiderlings
was 6201.
The size of the nuptial gift has significantly influenced the duration of the
copula (n=13, Spearman correlation r2=0.77, p=0.002). In each group, the copula
duration was different according the prey size (n=13, Mann-Whitney U=45,
p=0.003). When analyze the results between treatments the number of offspring
produced did not vary significantly (ANCOVA, n=9, F2,10=2.32, p=0.14).
However, when we analyze the size of the nuptial gift regardless the groups,
then we have a significant difference in the offspring production and the size of
the gift (Multiple Steps Regression F1,11=6.75, β=0.62±0.24, R2=32.40%,
p=0.02). The body size of the females does not have influence in the number of
spiderlings (ANCOVA, n=9, β=0.30±0.39, p=0.39).
Discussion
There are some important differences between the courtship pattern of this
new species and its most famous relative P. mirabilis and the two Trechaleidae
reported by Costa-Schmidt (2008). The nuptial gift is mandatory for the
courtship and copula since nothing happened with the couples deprived from
prey items, differently of P. mirabilis whose males have obtained success in
mating without nuptial gifts (Stålhandske 2001).
The second important aspect observed was the moment the males made
the nuptial gift. In P. mirabilis and the two Trechaleidae they made the gift
before meeting the females. Thaumasia sp. nov. starts to make it in the course of
the courtship. One possible explanation for this may reside in the fact that both
males and females live close together in their natural habitat sharing, most of the
time the same plant leaf while waiting for a prey to be trapped in the water film
so the males do not have to wander searching for the females.
Only males with gift presented some courtship display and copula, so
establishing the importance of the nuptial gift in reproduction. The nuptial gift
did not work as a protection against sexual cannibalism since none of the 45
males were attacked by any females.
The size of the nuptial gift has significantly influenced the duration of the
copula and the offspring production, indicating that a nuptial gift can work as a
parental investment. This study shows clearly that a lot more is yet to be done
with this new species in order to fully understand their behavioural patterns and
to establish evolutionary connections between the spiders’ families.
References
Austad S.N. & Thornhill R. 1986. Female reproductive variation in a nuptial-
feeding spider, P. mirabilis. Bulletin of the British Arachnological
Society, 7: 48-52.
Bilde T., Tuni C., Elsayed R., Pekár S. & Toft S. 2007. Nuptial gifts of male
spiders: sensory exploitation of the female’s maternal care instinct or
foraging motivation? Animal Behaviour, 73: 267-273.
337
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Costa-Schmidt L.E., Carico J.E. & Araújo A.M. 2008. Nuptial gifts and sexual
behavior in two species of spider (Araneae, Trechaleidae, Paratrechalea).
Naturwissenschaften, 95: 731-739.
Drengsgaard I.L. & Toft S. 1999. Sperm competition in a nuptial feeding spider,
Pisaura mirabilis. Behaviour, 136: 877-897.
Foelix R.F. 1996. Biology of spiders. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
Mass.
Huber B.A. 2005. Sexual selection research on spiders: progress and biases.
Biological Reviews, 80: 363-385.
Peretti A., Eberhard W.G. & Briceño R.D. 2006. Copulatory dialogue: female
spiders sing during copulation to influence male genitalic movements.
Animal Behaviour, 72: 413-421.
Robinson M.H. 1982. Courtship and mating behavior in spiders. Annual Review
of Entomology, 27: 1-20.
Schneider J.M. & Lubin Y. 1998. Intersexual conflict in spiders. Oikos, 83: 469-506.
Stålhandske P. 2001. Nuptial gift in spider Pisaura mirabilis maintained by
sexual selection. Behavioural Ecology, 12: 691-697.
Vahed K. 1998. The function of nuptial feeding in insects: a review of empirical
studies. Biological Reviews, 73: 3-78.
338
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
339
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
340
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Bond J.E. 1994. Setae-spigot homology and silk production in first instar of
Antrodiaetus unicolor spiderlings (Araneae: Antrodiaetidae). Journal of
Arachnology, 22: 19-22.
Coddington J.A. 1989. Spinneret silk spigot morphology: evidence for the
monophyly of orb weaving spiders, Cyrtophorinae (Araneae), and the
group Theridiidae plus Nesticidae. Journal of Arachnology, 17: 71-95.
Gorb S.N., Niederegger S., Hayashi C.Y., Summers A.P., Vötsch W. & Walther
P. 2006. Silk like secretion from tarantula feet. Nature, 443: 407.
Gorb S.N., Niederegger S., Hayashi C.Y., Summers A.P., Vötsch W. & Walther
P. 2009. Reply. Nature: doi:101038/nature08405.
Griswold C.E., Ramírez M.E., Coddington J.A. & Platnick N.I. 2005. Atlas of
phylogenetic data for entelegyne spiders. Proceedings of the California
Academy of Sciences, 56: 1-124.
Merrit D.J. 2007. The organule concept of insect sense organs: Sensory
transduction and organule evolution. Advances in Insect Physiology, 33:
192-241.
Niederegger S. & Gorb S.N. 2006. Friction and adhesion in the tarsal and
metatarsal scopulae of spiders. Journal of Comparative Physiology, A,
192: 1223-1232.
Pérez-Miles F., Panzera A., Ortiz-Villatoro D. & Perdomo C. 2009. Silk
production from tarantula feet questioned. Nature, 461:
oi:101038/nature8404.
Raven R.J. 2005. A new tarantula species from northern Australia (Araneae,
Theraphosidae). Zootaxa, 1004: 15-28.
Ross E.S. 1991. In: The insects of Australia 405-409, Canberra & Melbourne
Univ. Press.
341
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Bowler D.E. & Benton T.G. 2005. Causes and consequences of animal dispersal
strategies: relating individual behaviour to spatial dynamics. Biological
Reviews, 80: 205-225.
Kokko H. & Lopez-Sepulcre A. 2006. From individual dispersal to species
ranges: Perspectives for a changing world. Science, 313: 789-791.
Ronce O. 2007. How does it feel to be like a rolling stone? Ten questions about
dispersal evolution. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics, 38: 231-253.
342
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
343
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The spider genus Loxosceles has a widespread distribution, and the vast
majority of its species are concentrated in North and South Americas. The
cosmopolitan Loxosceles rufescens (Dufour, 1820), has its original distribution
range in the Mediterranean basin, and has been the only representative accepted
of the genus in this area until the recently discovered Loxosceles mrazig Ribera
& Planas, 2009 from Tunisia.
The evidence of the diversity in the Loxosceles lineage in NW Africa has
been pointed out by Duncan et al. (2010). In this paper, the authors indicated the
existence of a NW African clade, which includes the widespread L. rufescens,
the new recently described L. mrazig and some evolutionary lineages present in
the Maghreb and Canary Islands. This clade also includes Loxosceles
foutadjalloni Millot, 1941 from Guinea and the South American Loxosceles
amazonica Gertsch, 1967.
Recent collecting trips carried out in Morocco and Canaries provided us
with abundant material of Loxosceles. In this contribution we present the
preliminary results on taxonomy and phylogeny of this species from Canary
Islands and Morocco.
Canary Islands harbour an endemic group of Loxosceles species clearly
distinctive by morphology and molecular characters. Until now we have
identified 6 species: 1 in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, 2 in Tenerife, 2 in Gran
Canaria plus the cosmopolitan L. rufescens. Our data suggest a single
colonization event to the Eastern Canary Islands (Fuerteventura and Lanzarote)
and a posterior interinsular colonization to Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Several individuals from SW Morocco, morphologically consistent with
L. rufescens lineage are placed as the sister group of the L. rufescens clade
showing a high genetic divergence.
Within the L. rufescens lineage several independent evolutionary lineages
are discussed. We provide individuals from the type locality, Sagunt, and a wide
representation of specimens from the Mediterranean Basin. The lack of
geographical structure due to human-mediated dispersal impedes the
clarification of the dispersal patterns, but the genetic distance among groups and
the fact that populations of geographical proximity don't have genetic flux could
suggest a cryptic speciation.
344
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Institute for Land Use Systems, Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research
(ZALF), Germany, platen@zalf.de
345
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Underlying bedrock of chalk creates specific conditions for the forming of
a chalk biota. Geological history of the landscape, structure features of the chalk,
high albedo, low daily moisture and temperature fluctuation of the upper layers
promote development of extrazonal communities, where a great number of relic
and endemic species are presented, as well as thermophilous and xerophilous
ones that enrich local fauna with southern elements. Spiders of chalk lands of
Eastern Europe have not been studied purposely. In literature, there are only a
short remark of the species richness for South-Eastern Ukraine (Polchaninova &
Prokopenko 2003), and records in the lists of local faunas of North-Eastern
Ukraine and Southern Russia (Kulczyński 1913, Prisny 2003, Ponomarev &
Polchaninova 2006, Polchaninova & Procopenko 2007, Polchaninova 2009).
346
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
pennyi O.P.-C. are numerous in the North of the area in question, with Dictyna
latens (Fabr.), Tibellus macellus Sim., Thomisus onustus Walck., Phylaeus
chrysops (Poda) dominating in the South. Linyphia triangularis (Cl.), L.
tenuipalpis Sim., and Philodromus cespitum (Walck.) densely settle low shrub
thickets. In the litter, a bulk of common species Meioneta rurestris (C.L.K.),
Alopecosa sulzeri (Pav.), Berlandina cinerea (Mg), Drassodes pubescens
(Thor.), Thanatus arenarius L.K., Xysticus kochi Thor. is typical; in addition
to them, local dominants Trochosa robusta (Sim.), T. ruricola (De Geer), T.
terricola Thor., Gnaphosa taurica Thor., and less numerous Atypus muralis
Bertk., Eresus cinnaberinus (Oliver), Stemonyphantes lineatus (L.), Asianellus
festivus (C.L.K.), Phlegra fasciata (Hahn) were found. Only 5 species were
recorded exclusively in chalk grasslands. Uloborus walckenaerius Latr., a
typical dweller of sand habitats, settles Artemisia thickets; the other 4 species
were rare. In the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine, some polytopic mesophilous
species (Micrommata virescens (Cl.), Pisaura mirabilis (Cl.), Phrurolithus
festivus (C.L.K.), Alopecosa cuneata (Cl.) settle northern chalk slopes.
Northwards, in Central Forest-Steppe, the tendency is more evident; a lot of
species never occurring in this habitat southwards appear on chalk hills
(Robertus lividus (Bl.), Microlinyphia pusilla (Sund.), Neriene clathrata
(Sund.), Araniella cucrbitina (Cl.), Araneus marmoreus Cl., Zora nemoralis
(Bl.), etc).
There are no specific spider species characteristics of calcareous
grasslands. Uniqueness of the spider complex consists in presence of the
southern and eastern elements which have an area disjunction and sometimes
northern- or westernmost bounds of their distribution, penetrating to other
natural zones along the chain of chalk lands. As an example, the following
species can be referred: Pardosa italica Torng., Alopecosa cursor (Hahn),
Gnaphosa licenti Schenkel, G. steppica (Ovtsh.), G. mongolica Sim., G.
taurica Thor., Micaria rossica Thor., Zora pardalis Sim., Xysticus ninni Thor.
In a pine forest on chalk hills on the Donetsky Ridge, 112 spider species
were registered. Two families (Linyphiidae, 17%, and Theridiidae, 13% of the
fauna) were dominants, the other main families (see table 1), including
Philodoromidae, made up from 7 to 8,8%. More than a half species (62) was
presented by forest or polytopic mesophiles, typical of forests of the forest-
steppe and steppe zones. Photophilous dwellers of grasslands penetrate under
the canopy and/or occupy glades and cuttings (Enolpognatha thoracica
(Hahn), Simitidion simile (C.L.K.), Theridiom impressum, Th. nigrovariegatum
Sim., Meioneta rurestris, Stemonyphantes lineatus, Cyclosa oculata (Walck.),
Hypsosinga sanguinea (C.L.K.), Neoscona adianta, Alopecosa trabalis (Cl.),
Dictyna latens, Tibellus macellus, Aelurillus festivus, Philaeus chrysops and
others, 20 species altogether), 30 species are rare or sporadic. The bulk of
dominants of the grass and lower shrub layer was composed of Mangora
acalypha, Araneus diadematus Cl., Zilla diodia (Walck.), Gibbaranea
bituberculata (Walck.), Tetragnatha pinicola L.K., Linyphia hortensis, L.
triangularis, Philodromus cespitum; in the litter, it included Atypus muralis,
Alopecosa sulzeri, Arctosa lutetiana (Sim,), Haplodrassus umbratilis (L.K.),
347
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
348
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Table 1. Species composition of the main families in the spider fauna of different steppe
types of Eastern Ukraine (number of species and %).
Steppe type
Families
Chalk Limestone Granite Forbgrass Total
N % N % N % N % N %
Theridiidae 12 12,0 6 7,5 12 9,4 20 10,6 22 9,6
Linyphiidae 5 5,0 5 6,3 10 7,8 27 14,3 28 12,3
Araneidae 10 10,0 6 7,5 7 5,5 13 6,9 15 6,6
Lycosidae 14 14,0 8 10,0 12 9,4 19 10,1 21 9,2
Gnaphosidae 17 17,0 17 21,3 27 21,1 25 13,2 41 18,0
Thomisidae 11 11,0 9 11,3 14 10,9 17 9,0 18 7,9
Salticidae 11 11,0 14 17,5 16 12,5 29 15,3 36 15,8
Others 20 20,0 15 18,8 30 23,4 39 20,6 47 20,6
Total 100 100 80 100 128 100 189 100 228 100
349
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The spider genus Celaetycheus was proposed by Simon (1897) to include the
type species C. flavostriatus Simon, 1897, described based on a single female
collected at Salobro, Bahia, Brazil. Currently, the genus is monotypic (Polotow &
Brescovit, 2009). The genus can be distinguished from the remaining Ctenidae
genera by the presence of several small ventral spines on the endites, coxae, femur
and trochanter (Polotow & Brescovit, 2009: figs 12C, 13A–C) and the presence of a
cymbial retroventral process (Polotow & Brescovit, 2009: figs 11A–B) in the male
palp and short lateral spurs, with the tip below the median plate, and the
spermathecae divided in two parts, with a round head and large and curved base
(Polotow & Brescovit, 2009: figs 11C–D) in the epigynum.
The aim of this paper is to describe six new species of Celaetycheus and apply
a cladistic analysis based on parsimony to test the phylogenetic relationships of the
species of the genus. In addition, the pattern of distribution of the species is
discussed.
Results
Nine new species are described to the genus Celaetycheus, all recorded to
northeast of Brazil. The genus Celaetycheus arises as a monophyletic group and
350
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Goloboff P.A., Farris J.S. & Nixon K. 2003-2004. TNT: Tree analysis using new
technology. Version 1.0. Program and documentation available from the
authors at http://www.zmuk.dk/public/phylogeny.
Maddison W.P. & Maddison D.R. 2008. Mesquite: a modular system for
evolutionary analysis. Version 2.5. Program and documentation available
at http://mesquiteproject.org
Polotow D & Brescovit A.D. 2009. Revision of the new wandering spider genus
Ohvida and taxonomy remarks on Celaetycheus Simon, 1897 (Araneae,
Ctenidae). Zootaxa, 2115: 1-20.
351
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The edges have been shown to produce both positive and negative effects
upon their inhabitants. In addition, edge preferences of predators have been
supported in some ecosystems and not in the others. A gap that makes edge
effects difficult to create any generalization is a lack of knowledge in several
aspects and the inconsistency of research results. Accordingly, the gaps, several
groups of organisms including spiders, ants, butterflies, lizards, etc. and several
types of adjacent areas namely plantations adjacent to forests, etc., especially in
tropical areas, await further studies in order that certain principles and theories
on the edge effects can be formulated.
Web-building spider assemblage is reasonably suitable for assessing their
responses to the edges since they live in a particular habitat; quickly respond to
environmental changes and they are complete predators thus they are highly
satisfactory to test the hypothesis of preference of predators to edge habitats. In
addition, being generalist predators make them directly and indirectly correlated
with many prey species and their species richness and abundance may reflect the
abundance of their prey, mainly arthropods, in the communities. Besides,
because of various life histories (web design, web site, time to prey) among species
so they are appropriate for assessing which type of life history is the most sensitive
to edge effects.
Although rubber plantation-forest edges are commonly found in many
parts of Southern Thailand, studies on their effects are not known. In the present
study, web-building spiders will be surveyed along transects across the rubber
plantation-forest edges. The prediction of the current research is that species
richness of web-building spiders at the edge will be higher than the adjacent
habitats. Since the edges are a transitional zone of neighbouring habitats,
therefore the spider species of both neighbouring habitats will be found at the
edges. The roughly result analyses is different from prediction. Species richness
of spiders at the rubber plantations is highest. Their richness at the edges is
higher than forests. Totally, 1753 individuals of spider were found. They are 917
juveniles and 836 adults. 67 morphospecies of spiders were found from the
adults. Certain species are found interesting to study in depth to find for
underlying mechanism responding to edge effects.
352
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Jerzy Prószyński
353
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Identifying sympatric speciation is currently a hot and growing topic in
modern ecology and taxonomy (Elias et al. 2008). Among spiders, Lycosidae
received a special attention as they include closely related species with similar
foraging strategies and overlapping patterns of microhabitat use (DeVito et al.
2004). As an example, Barthel and von Helversen (1990) considered that
Pardosa wagleri and P. saturatior are two different species because of their
differences in habitat preference, morphology and phenology. Kronestedt (1990)
reached to the same conclusion with the pulverulenta group using ecological,
morphological and sexual behaviour characters. In this study, we compared two
sibling species of Pardosa, P. agrestis and P. purbeckensis. The species status of
P. purbeckensis – P. agrestis still remains uncertain, P. purbeckensis being
frequently considered as a (junior) synonym of P. agrestis due to their high
morphological similarities (e.g. Platnick 2009). We more precisely tested the
hypothesis that both P. agrestis and P. purbeckensis are two different species, as
would reveal a cladistic analysis of different populations. As the two species can
be found in closed stations, we suggest that they have been submitted to a
sympatric speciation, ecological differences can indeed lead to reproductive
barriers between two species of invertebrate in only dozens of generations
(Hendry et al. 2007).
Model species
Pardosa agrestis (Westring, 1861) is a mainland species widely
distributed in Europe, more especially in the south and east, mainly found in
drier banks adjoining the flats, chalk pits or clay soils (Harvey et al. 2002). This
species is undistinguishable from the variety P. purbeckensis (F.O. P.-
Cambridge, 1895) regarding genitalia (Roberts 1995) and thus they are not
considered as two different species, despite a high variety of epigynes in P.
purbeckensis (Roberts 1987). But the last, exclusively found in salt marshes or
polders of the north west of Europe (Heydemann 1970, Harvey et al. 2002,
Pétillon et al. 2005), presents some differences in its habitus (median band of
cephalothorax not dilated, males’ metatarsi and tarsi I with many long hairs) and
its size (both male and female are larger than P. agrestis’ ones) (Locket &
Millidge 1951). Pétillon et al. (submitted) showed a higher salinity tolerance for
P. purbeckensis by exposing the two varieties to a gradient of salinity which is
relevant with their habitats preferences. Furthermore, populations of P. agrestis
354
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
exhibit two cohorts (Samu et al. 1998) whereas only one cohort has been found
for populations of P. purbeckensis (Puzin et al. submitted).
References
Barthel J. & von Helversen O. 1990. Pardosa wagleri (Hahn 1822) and Pardosa
saturatior (Simon 1937), a pair of sibling species (Araneae, Lycosidae).
In: Célérier M.L., Heurtault J. & Rollard C. (eds), Proceedings of the 12th
European Colloquium of Arachnology, Paris, 2-4 July 1990, pp. 17-23.
Castañeda L.E., Lardies M.A. & Bozinovic F. 2004. Adaptative latitudinal shifts
in the thermal physiology of terrestrial isopod. Evolutionary Ecology
Research, 6: 579-593.
Chiarle A., Isaia M. & Castellano S. 2009. Courtship behaviour in syntopic and
cryptic species: the case of Pardosa vljimi (Araneae, Lycosidae), a new
record for the Italian fauna. In: Chatzaki M., Stathi I., Spiridopoulou K.
(eds), Abstracts of the 25th European Colloquium of Arachnology,
Alexandroupolis, 16-21 August 2009.
DeVito J., Meik J.M., Gerson M.M. & Formanowicz Jr D.R. 2004.
Physiological tolerances of three sympatric riparian wolf spiders (Araneae:
Lycosidae) correspond with microhabitat distributions. Canadian Journal
of Zoology, 8: 1119-1125.
Elias M., Gompert Z., Jiggins C. & Willmott K. 2008. Mutualistic interactions
drive ecological niche convergence in a diverse butterfly community.
PLoS Biology, 6: 2642-2649.
Harvey P.R., Nellist D.R. & Telfer M.G. 2002. Provisional atlas of British
spiders (Arachnida, Araneae). Biological Records Centre, Huntington 2.
355
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
356
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Spiders are ubiquitous in nature, being both diverse and abundant in
almost all habitats, exploiting a wide variety of niches in virtually all the earth's
biomes and play vital role in sustaining the ecosystem. In India, information on
spider assemblages in the Himalayan region is scanty in comparison to other
regions of the country because of its tough terrain and climatic conditions. For
the first time diversity of spiders has been investigated in Chir Pine (Pinus
roxburghii) forest in Western Himalayan region of India near Joshimath (1500-
2000 m) area of Chamoli district of Garhwal Himalaya, adjoining to Nanda Devi
Biosphere Reserve (NDBR).
Results
A total of 96 species/morphospecies of spiders belonging to 52 genera and
24 families was reported during the study period. Of all the species collected,
38.5% of the specimens were identified up to species level and 61.5% were
identified up to genus level. The specimens that were immature were identified
only up to genus level. Araneidae and Salticidae were represented by 11.5% of
the 52 genus recorded followed by Theridiidae and Thomisidae (9.6%). Species
richness within families decreased as follows- Araneidae with 16 species (16.7%
of the total species), followed by Linyphiidae 8 species (8.3%); Thomisidae and
Salticidae, 11 species (11.5%) each; Theridiidae with 7 species (7.3%);
Gnaphosidae and Lycosidae with 5 species each (5.2%); Tetragnathidae and
357
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Uloboridae with 4 species (4.2%); while the other families were rare and
composed of 26% of the total species with 25 species.
Discussion
The 24 families reported from this area represent 40% of the total families
reported from India. The initial result suggests that Araneidae, Thomisidae and
Salticidae are the most speciose families in this area. The genus Episinus
(Theridiidae) was documented for the first time in India. The area has rich
diversity of spider, further investigation will help to understand spider diversity
of Western Himalayan Ecosystem.
358
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
359
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Gravely F.H. 1915. A revision of the Oriental subfamilies of Tarantulidae order
Pedipalpi. Records of the Indian Museum, 11: 433-455.
Harvey M.S. 2003. Catalogue of the smaller arachnid orders of the world:
Amblypygi, Uropygi, Schizomida, Palpigradi, Ricinulei and Solifugae.
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Quintero D. Jr. 1986. Revision de la classification de Amblypygidos pulvinados:
creacion de subordenes, una neuva familia y un nuevo genero con tres
nuevas especies (Arachnida: Amblypygi). In: Eberhard W.G., Lubin Y.D.
& Robinson B.C. (eds), Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress
of Arachnology, Panama 1983: 203-212, Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington D.C.
Rahmadi C. 2009. A review of the family Charontidae (Archnida: Amblypygi)
with notes on the systematic and distribution [Abstract]. 41st Annual
Meeting of the Arachonological Society of Japan. Acta Arachnologica,
58(2): 117.
Rahmadi C. & Harvey M.S. 2008. The first epigean species of Stygophrynus
(Amblypygi: Charontidae) from Java and adjacent Islands with notes on S.
dammermani Roewer, 1928. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 56(2): 281-288.
Weygoldt P. 1996. Evolutionary morphology of whip spiders: towards a
phylogenetic system (Chelicerata: Arachnida: Amblypygi). Journal of
Zoological Systematics and Evolution Research, 34: 185-202.
Weygoldt P. 2002. Sperm transfer and spermatophore morphology of the whip
spiders Sarax buxtoni, S. brachydactylus (Charinidae), Charon cf. grayi,
and Stygophrynus brevispina nov. spec. (Charontidea). Zoologischer
Anzeiger, 241: 131-148.
Weygoldt P. 2000. Whip spiders: Their biology, morphology and systematics.
Apollo Books: Stenstrup.
360
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
361
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
362
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Eisner T., Jones T.H, Hicks K., Silberglied R.E. & Meinwald J. 1977. Quinones
and phenols in the defensive secretions of neotropical opilionids. Journal
of Chemical Ecology, 3: 321-329.
Eisner T., Rossini C., González A. & Eisner M. 2004. Chemical defence of an
opilionid (Acanthopachylus aculeatus). Journal of Experimental Biology,
207: 1313-1321.
Ekpa O., Wheeler J.W., Cokendolpher J.C. & Duffield R.M. 1984. N,N-
Dimethyl-ß-phenylethylamine and bornyl esters from the harvestman
Sclerobunus robustus (Arachnida: Opiliones). Tetrahedron Letters, 25:
1315-1318.
Ekpa O., Wheeler J.W., Cokendolpher J.C. & Duffield R.M. 1985. Ketones and
alcohols in the defensive secretion of Leiobunum townsendi Weed and a
review of the known exocrine secretions of Palpatores (Arachnida:
Opiliones). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 81B: 555-557.
Föttinger P., Acosta L.E., Leis H.J. & Raspotnig G. 2010. Benzoquinone-rich
exudates from the harvestman, Pachylus paessleri (Opliliones,
Gonyleptidae, Pachylinae) with comments on the phylogenetic
significance of secretion compounds in the Laniatores. Journal of
Arachnology, under review.
Jones T.H., Shear W.A. & Giribet G. 2009. The chemical defences of a stylocellid
(Arachnida, Opiliones, Stylocellidae) from Sulawesi with comparisons to
other Cyphophthalmi. Journal of Arachnology, 37: 147-150.
363
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Raspotnig G., Fauler G., Leis M. & Leis H.-J. 2005. Chemical profiles of scent
glands secretions in the cyphophthalmid opilionid harvestmen, Siro
duricorius and S. exilis. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 31: 1353-1368.
Raspotnig G., Leutgeb V., Schaider M. & Komposch Ch. 2010.
Naphthoquinones and anthraquinones from scent glands of a dyspnoid
harvestman, Paranemastoma quadripunctatum. Journal of Chemical
Ecology, 36: 158-162.
Shear W.A., Jones T.H. & Snyder A.J. 2010. Chemical defence of phalangodid
harvestmen: Bishopella laciniosa (Crosby & Bishop) and Texella
bifurcata (Briggs) produce 2-methyl-5-ethylphenol (Opiliones:
Grassatores: Phalangodidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological
Society, 15: 27-28.
364
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Robert J. Raven
365
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
366
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Why do some animals live in social groups while others are solitary?
Throughout Animalia are examples of closely related taxa in which the majority
of species live essentially solitary lives while a few species have evolved to live
in cooperative social groups. What factors make cooperation beneficial although
closely related species succeed without those benefits? How do physiological
and ecological constraints interact so that group-living becomes more beneficial
than a solitary life style? Why do young adults remain with their parents when
they could have better opportunities to breed if they left home? These questions
are at the essence of understanding the costs and benefits of group-living in
animals. Evolution of sociality must involve adaptive benefits to offset the costs
of living closely with competitors, especially among potentially cannibalistic
predators such as spiders. These adaptations may involve behavioural,
ecological, and physiological strategies for living in groups.
In this presentation, I will discuss some of these differences in
behavioural, ecological, and physiological strategies influencing social evolution
in endemic social and solitary huntsman spiders from Australia. The Australian
endemic subfamily Deleninae is monophyletic with relatively little
morphological diversity (Rheims 2007) containing ten genera with ~99 species
(Platnick 2010, Hirst per. comm.). These endemic delenine spiders share a
number of key traits that make them particularly valuable for comparative
studies: The social and solitary species overlap geographically, in body size,
general biology, and habitat preferences; many live in retreats under bark, often
in neighbouring trees. The social and solitary species appear to be very similar in
most superficial traits except that two huntsman species from different genera
live in social groups for most of their lives. To aide in determining whether there
are phylogenetically independent characters associated with social evolution in
these species, there are solitary congeners for comparison. Here I will present
data on comparative patterns of group-living, prey sharing, dispersion, life-
history, and metabolic rate in 15 species from 7 genera of delenine huntsman
spiders. I will discuss some of the factors that effectively reduce the costs of
group-living for the social species, which are not seen in the solitary huntsman
species.
367
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
368
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The genus Lycosa Latreille, 1804 is one of the most diverse genera of
spiders. Its worldwide distribution and its wandering life style place some
Lycosa species among the best-known and widely studied spider species. Lycosa
groups 240 species, 17 of which are recorded from Western Mediterranean, and
some of them are among the largest representatives of the spider fauna of this
area, a fact that has also contributed to the extensive number of studies
concerning their systematics, behaviour and ecology. Despite of the numerous
studies, the taxonomical status of the species of Lycosa from Western
Mediterranean remains controversial.
The fact that original descriptions are very old (18th, 19th and the first half
of the 20th century) and the majority of the type material has been lost, impedes
or seriously obstructs the identification to the specific level. Moreover, the
taxonomic status of most of these species is confused, mainly after the Roewer’s
revision (1955), which transferred many “true” Lycosa species from western
Mediterranean to the genus Allocosa Banks, 1900. There are only few species
redescriptions and no recent revision at the genus level has been carried out in
this area.
In an attempt to clarify the situation we undertook a series of collecting
trips in Western Mediterranean with a main objective: to make the redescription
of the Lycosa species from this area and to nominate the neotypes of the species
that have been lost. In this contribution we present the preliminary results on
taxonomy and phylogeny of these species.
Phylogenetic analysis using information from mitochondrial and
molecular genes allows us to examine the phylogenetic relationships and
diversification patterns of the genus in the Western Mediterranean. Results show
a basal group of species (maghrebi group) located in the South of Morocco and
Tunisia, although, some of them also colonize the northern areas near the
Mediterranean and some islands (Corsica and Sardinia). In addition there are
two independent evolutionary lineages with European representatives: the L.
tarantula Group and the L. subhirsuta Group.
The tarantula group contains the Tunisian L. bedeli and the Europeans L.
tarantula and L. hispanica. The phylogenetic analysis suggests a single
colonization event from Tunisia to Europe through the Sicilian island. Posterior
glacial periods separate the Iberian and Italic representatives.
369
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
370
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The white sand vegetation, also called “campina”, is known by its low plant
diversity and high endemism rates (Anderson 1981, Frasier 2008), when compared
with other Amazonian ecosystems. This vegetation grows over sandy soil and
occurs in patches throughout Amazonia, as a distinctive vegetal formation
presenting from open fields to low-canopy forests (Anderson 1981).
The Southeastern Amazonia, presenting extensive white sand areas, is
nowadays endangered mainly due to the irregular land usage for monoculture,
cattle grazing and inadequate wood extraction practices.
Several questions about species distribution in Amazonia still remain
unanswered and some megadiverse animal groups, as spiders, haven’t received
well-deserved attention. The lack of faunistic studies in this particular Amazonian
landscape leaded us to survey the spider fauna of selected sites at Serra do
Cachimbo region. The main objective of this study was to analyze how the species
composition associated with white sand vegetation ecosystem contributes to the
Amazonian spider diversity.
371
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
this vegetation type (Mcnett & Rypstra 2000, Ysnel & Canard 2000) compared
with the Rain Forest. WS shared less then 15% with the other vegetations, while
CE, FO and RP shared more than 70% between them.
More than a half (55%) of WS species occurred only in this vegetation
type, with average of 10% more exclusive species than the other vegetations.
The spider species composition was significantly different between the areas
(ANOSIM: r=0,17; p=0,0001). The ordination showed a visible proximity of
WS samples, in contrast with the other vegetations samples, which were less
aggregated. Some recent data about avian community also demonstrate that
white sand ecosystems may harbour several species differentiated of more
complex Amazonian ecosystems. Borges (2004) discussed the association of a
distinct bird assemblage with white sand vegetation of western Amazonia, as
well Polleto & Aleixo (2005) stressed the importance of intensifying faunistic
surveys in white sand patches, aiming to add more data on endemism and
biogeography. Even with the need of more complete observations, these results
suggests that, as well for plants and birds, spider species endemism may occur in
the white sand ecosystems, highlighting the conservation importance of this
environment.
References
Anderson A. 1981. White-sand vegetation of Brasilian Amazonia. Biotropica,
13: 199-210.
Borges S.H. 2004. Species poor but distinct: bird assemblages in white sand
vegetation in Jaú National Park, Amazonian Brazil. Ibis, 146: 114-124.
Clarke K.R. 1993. Non-parametric multivariate analysis of changes in
community structure. Australian Journal of Ecology, 18(1):117-143.
Frasier C.L., Albert V.A. & Struwe L. 2008. Amazonian lowland, white sand
areas as ancestral regions for South American biodiversity: biogeographic
and phylogenetic patterns in Potalia (Angiospermae: Gentianaceae).
Organisms Diversity and Evolution, 8: 144-157.
Hammer O, Harper D.T.A. & Ryan P.D. 2009. PAST: Palaeontological Statistics
software package for and data analysis. Paleontologia Eletronica, 4(1): 9.
Legendre P. & Legendre L. 1998. Numerical Ecology. 2. ed. Elsevier,
Amsterdam.
Macnett B.J., Rypstra A.L. 2000. Habitat selection in a large orb-weaving
spider: vegetational complexity determines site selection and distribution.
Ecological Entomology, 25: 423-432.
Poletto F. & Aleixo A. 2005. Biogeographic implications of new avian records
from a patch of white-sand forest in southwestern Brazilian Amazonia.
Revista Brasileira de Zoologia [online], 22(4): 1196-1200.
Ricetti J. & Bonaldo A.B. 2008. Diversidade e estimativas de riqueza de aranhas
em quatro fitofisionomias na Serra do Cachimbo, Pará, Brasil. Iheringia,
Sér. Zool., 98: 88-99.
Ysnel F. & Canard A. 2000. Spider biodiversity in connection with the
vegetation structure and the foliage orientation of hedges. Journal of
Arachnology, 28: 107-114.
372
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
373
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
374
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Welshpool DC, Perth, WA,
Australia, michael.rix@museum.wa.gov.au, mark.harvey@museum.wa.gov.au
*
Presenting author
375
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
376
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
377
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Gerschman de P., Schiapelli B.S. & Schiapelli R.D. 1965. El género Polybetes
Simon, 1897, en la Argentina (Araneae-Sparassidae). Revista do Museo
Argentino de Ciencias Naturais Bernardino Rivadavia (Ent.), 1: 313-339.
Jäger P. 1998. First results of a taxonomic revision of the SE Asian Sparassidae
(Araneae). In: Selden P.A. (ed.), Proceedings of the 17th European
Colloquium of Arachnology, Edinburgh, pp. 53-59.
Järvi T.H. 1912. Das Vaginalsystem der Sparassiden. I. Allgemeiner Teil.
Annales Academiae Scientiarus Fennicae, 4: 1-131.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1938. Algunas arañas nuevas de la Argentina. Revista del
Museo de La Plata (N.S), 1: 89-118.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1944. Arañas de la provincia de Buenos Aires. Revista del
Museo de La Plata (N.S., Zool.), 3: 311-393.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1941a. Las arañas de la provincia de Santa Fe colectadas
por el Profesor Birabén. Revista del Museo de La Plata (N.S., Zool.), 2:
199-225.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1941b. Las arañas de Córdoba, La Rioja, Catamarca,
Tucumán, Salta y Jujuy colectadas por los Profesores Birabén. Revista del
Museo de La Plata (N.S., Zool.), 2: 99-198.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1943a. Araneologica varia brasiliana. Anais da Academia
Brasileira de Ciências, 15: 255-265.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1943b. Catálogo das aranhas do Rio Grande do Sul.
Archos del Museo Nacional Rio de Janeiro, 37:147-245.
Mello-Leitão C.F. de 1945. Arañas de Misiones, Corrientes y Entre Ríos. Revta.
Revista del Museo de La Plata (N.S., Zool.), 4: 213-302.
Petrunkevitch A. 1928. Systema Aranearum. Transactions of the Connecticut
Academy of Arts and Sciences, 29: 1-270.
Platnick N.I. 2010. The world spider catalog, version 9.5. AMNH,
http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html.
Roewer C.F. 1954. Katalog der Araneae von 1758 bis 1940. Bruxelles, 1: 1-1040.
Simon E. 1897a. Histoire naturelle des araignées. Paris, 2: 1-192.
Simon E. 1897b. Etudes arachnologiques. 27e Mémoire. XLII. Descriptions
d'espèces nouvelles de l'ordre des Araneae. Annales de la Société
Entomologique de France, 65: 465-510.
378
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
379
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Banks N. 1893. Notes on spiders. Journal of the New York Entomological
Society, 1: 123-134.
Banks N. 1898. Arachnida from Baja California and other parts of Mexico.
Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 1: 205-308.
Blackwall J. 1866. A list of spiders captured in the southeast region of equatorial
Africa, with descriptions of such species as appear to be new to
arachnologists. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 18: 451-468.
Chamberlin R.V. 1919. New Californian spiders. Journal of Entomology and
Zoology Claremont, 12: 1-17.
Chamberlin R.V. 1924. The spider fauna of the shores and islands of the Gulf of
California. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 12: 561-
694.
Fox I. 1937. The Nearctic spiders of the family Heteropodidae. Journal of the
Washington Academy of Sciences, 27: 461-474.
Jäger P. & Kunz D. 2005. An illustrated key to genera of African huntsman
spiders (Arachnida, Araneae, Sparassidae). Senckenbergiana biologica,
85: 163-213.
Keyserling E. 1884. Neue Spinnen aus America. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-
Botanischen Gesellschaft Wien, 33: 649-684.
Platnick N.I. 2010. The world spider catalog, version 10.5. AMNH, at www:
http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/index.html.
Roewer C.F. 1951. Neue Namen einiger Araneen-Arten. Abhandlungen des
Nturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen, 32: 437-456.
Roth V.D. 1988. American Agelenidae and some misidentified spiders
(Clubionidae, Oonopidae and Sparassidae) of E. Simon in the Muséum
national d'Histoire naturelle. Bulletin du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle,
Paris, 10(A): 25-37.
Simon, E. 1880. Révision de la famille des Sparassidae (Arachnides). Actes de
la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux, 34: 223-351.
380
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The genus Breda Peckham & Peckham was proposed in 1894 to include
two South American species, Marpissa milvina C.L. Koch, 1846, from Bahia,
Brazil, designated as type species, and Marpissa lubomirskii Taczanowski, 1878,
from Peru. Since then, 12 other species have been described or placed in the
genus, composing the current list of 14 species in Platnick´s catalog. The genus
Breda was revised in 2005 (Ruiz & Brescovit unpublished data) and ten species
were considered valid. Also, three new species were found and described. A new
genus was also proposed to include Breda flavostriata Simon, 1901, a species
closely related to Breda that missed states considered synapomorphies for that
genus.
The exam of recently collected material from areas in Brazil revealed the
existence of two new lineages supposed to be closely related to Breda. Two
other new genera will be proposed to include these species.
The first new genus includes only one species with very low, long, dark
carapace, leg I without spines on femur or tibia, very reduced chelicerae, male
palp with three retrolateral tibial apophyses, an extra loop on the sperm duct and
a thin, long embolus; epigynum with anterior, small croissant-like atrium and a
median posterior depression; internally with short copulation ducts and small,
anterior spermathecae. This species is based on a single male and a single female
from Central Brazil (Goiás and Piauí).
The second new genus includes only one species with a shorter and higher
carapace, male palp with a single, short RTA, very long embolus, reaching two
and a half circles around the tegulum; epigynum has an anterior, almost
triangular atrium; internally with coiled copulation ducts and small, anterior
spermathecae. This species is based on several males and several females from
Alagoas, NE Brazil.
The genus Breda was proposed as belonging in the “Marptusa group”
(Marptusa is currently a junior synonym of Marpissa). The list of genera of the
Marptusa group as presented by Peckham & Peckham included all the salticid
species with low carapace known until that time. This group has been refined by
other authors, being currently known as the Marpissinae.
The subfamily Marpissinae Simon includes about nine genera, most from
the New World. The genus Breda was considered as belonging in the
Marpissinae by Maddison & Hedin, Edwards and Ruiz & Brescovit, based on
the general appearance of its flat species. Recently acquired DNA sequences
(both 28S and Actin genes), conversely, place Breda within the Amycoida.
381
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The clade Amycoida was discovered by Maddison & Hedin during a study
on molecular data of salticids. The group includes a great portion of the
Neotropical diversity of jumping spiders, being composed by about 60 genera
and 420 described species. The main groups within the amycoids are the
Amycinae, Huriinae, Hyetussinae, Sitticinae, Synemosyninae and Thiodininae.
Besides, there are some incertae sedis genera, such as Agelista Simon, Asaracus
C.L. Koch, Fluda Peckham & Peckham, Scopocira Simon e Titanattus Peckham
& Peckham. The study by Maddison & Hedin did not include any member of
Breda.
Despite Breda and the related new genera have the same pattern of
cheliceral teeth as the species of the Hurieae group (Huriinae), they do not group
with one species of Hurius sampled. Instead, the genus Breda shows up close to
the base of Amycoida, sometimes in a polytomy with the Thiodininae, Sitticinae
and the rest of the group.
The amycoids will receive a better sampling and their morphology will
also be studied to help us reconstruct their phylogeny, clarifying the position of
Breda and related groups, which may be an important clade for the amycoids
due to their early branching, as shown by our preliminary results.
382
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
383
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
large molecular data matrices, we also inferred trees using this method for all the
genes independently and for the same complete matrix used in the Bayesian
analysis. Parsimony analyses were done using TNT treating character states as
unordered and gaps as missing data.
As the result of the Bayesian analyses, the clades Marpissoida, Ballinae,
Marpissinae, Synagelinae and Dendryphantinae were recovered as monophyletic
(the clade Marpissoida includes the Marpissinae, the Synagelinae, the
Dendryphantinae and undetermined genera such as Itata Peckham & Peckham). The
general topology found under parsimony for the All-Genes matrix agrees with the
Bayesian analyses: (Astioida (Baviinae (Ballinae (Synagelinae (Marpissinae
(Dendryphantinae)))))). The position of the genus Itata and of a poorly understood
species from Costa Rica is still considered doubtful within the Marpissoida.
Within the Dendryphantinae, the genus Hentzia Marx seems to be sister to the
rest of the subfamily. Species of this genus, along with those of Macaroeris
Wunderlich, Phanias F.P.-Cambridge, Homalattus White, Mabellina Chickering
and Rudra Peckham & Peckham, are the only groups of dendryphantines who have
epiandrous fusules. The loss of these fusules characterizes a large clade which
includes most dendryphantine lineages. The clade of the infusulate dendryphantines
includes three major lineages. The first is the genus Zygoballus Peckham &
Peckham; the second is a huge clade including Metaphidippus F.O.P.-Cambridge
and several South American genera, such as Chirothecia Taczanowski, Ashtabula
Peckham & Peckham, Lurio Simon, Alcmena C.L. Koch and Admirala Peckham &
Peckham; the third lineage includes the genera Ramboia Mello-Leitão, Parnaenus
Peckham & Peckham, the Bagheera group (Bagheera Peckham & Peckham,
Gastromicans Mello-Leitão, Selimus Peckham & Peckham and species of the
“Messua” limbata group), the Bellota group (Bellota Peckham & Peckham,
Paradamoetas Simon and Sassacus Peckham & Peckham, among other genera) and
a huge clade from North America. The North American clade includes Ghelna
Maddison, Terralonus Maddison, Dendryphantes C.L. Koch, Tutelina Simon,
Phidippus C.L. Koch, Paraphidippus F.O.P.-Cambridge, Beata Peckham &
Peckham, Eris C.L. Koch and Pelegrina Franganillo.
Despite the fact that the subfamily seems to be a group originated in the
American continent, where it presents a fantastic diversification, the
Dendryphantinae has reached the Old World at least three times independently. Two
of these invasions are probably older and were carried out by lineages with
epiandrous fusules, namely Macaroeris and Homalattus (former Rhene Thorell),
while the third seems to be a very recent invasion by an infusulate group, the genus
Dendryphantes, who still has members in North America. Besides biogeographical
studies, many other aspects of their evolution can be inferred based on this topology,
such as the evolution of sexual secondary dimorphism (chelicerae and legs),
mimicry (beetles/ants) or the evolution of male palp structures.
Based on this phylogenetic hypothesis, natural groups of genera will be
revised with criticism, allowing their taxonomic simplification and easier
recognition. We hope that this will increase the interest of younger arachnologists on
the group and propitiate the description of the several hundred new species that
remain unknown and unnamed.
384
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The araneofauna of the Balearic Islands has been the focus of a number of
faunistic studies. However, significantly less attention has been paid to the island
of Ibiza than to those of Majorca and Minorca. From the end of September to the
middle of October 2008 and 2009, spiders were collected at different locations
on Ibiza. To ensure the sample covered a broad faunistic spectrum, thirteen
locations were chosen which differed in vegetation type, grade of agricultural
use or building density. Due to differences in the diurnal activity of different
spider taxa, some locations were sampled at different times of day and night.
Use of a dip net and exhauster and collection by hand allowed us to draw
qualitative conclusions about the composition of the araneofauna. Specimens
from the following taxa were collected: Agelenidae, Araneidae, Dysderidae,
Gnaphosidae, Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Miturgidae, Nemesiidae, Oecobiidae,
Oxyopidae, Philodromidae, Pholcidae, Pisauridae, Salticidae, Segestriidae,
Sicariidae, Tetragnathidae, Theridiidae, Thomisidae, Uloboridae, Zodariidae and
Zoropsidae. Over a dozen species were revealed to be new to Ibiza. Thanks to
the sampling techniques used, this survey showed the aranaeofauna of Ibiza to
be much more diverse then previously thought.
385
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Soil spiders?
Vlastimil Růžička1, Vratislav Laška2, Jan Mikula2 & Ivan H. Tuf2
1
Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, České Budějovice, Czech Republic,
vruz@entu.cas.cz
2
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký
University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, vratislav.laska@email.cz,
jmikula@email.cz; ivan.tuf@upol.cz
Introduction
Spiders are among the most common and ubiquitous of animals; they are
indeed found everywhere over the life-supporting land masses of the world.
Where any form of terrestrial life exists, it is safe to assume there will also be
spiders living close by. Spiders have conquered all of the possible ecological
niches upon the land.
A wide spectrum of spider underground habitats also exists. Numerous
studies have been devoted to the study of cave spiders. We have a quantity of
knowledge on the vertical distribution of spiders in scree fields. Very little still
seems to be known about those invertebrates inhabiting the shallow void systems
within the bedrock, under the soil cover. Thus, the question arises: what about
“soil spiders”?
The objective of our study was to search for permanent soil spiders, i.e.
spiders inhabiting the deeper soil profiles for their entire life cycle. We extended
our previous study, bring new data, and prepared a mini-review.
386
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Modes of speciation
We have evaluated our findings from the perspective of the development
of the adaptations of arthropods to subterranean life. We distinguished between
those adaptations to life in the soil environment (edaphomorphisms), and those
adaptations to life within the cave environment (troglomorphisms).
Depigmentation, desclerotization, as well as the atrophy or even loss of eyes are
common adaptations. The shortening of the appendages is a typical
edaphomorphism; while the elongation of the appendages is a typical
troglomorphism. The size ranges of soil inhabitants are generally smaller than
those of related epigeous species; however, among cave inhabitants both
gigantism and dwarfism are known.
The specimens of P. microps from the soil profile exhibit similar body
dimensions and proportions as those specimens from the leaf litter in South
Moravia, Czech Republic. The specimens of P. myops from the soil profile
exhibit relatively shorter legs than do the specimens from caves. We assume that
the ancient epigean ancestor of the contemporary P. myops exhibited similar
body proportions as did the epigean P. pygmaeum (similar to the other epigeic
species, e.g. P. microphthalmum). Compared with their close relative P.
pygmeum, the scree and cave populations of P. myops exhibit leg elongations (a
troglomorphism); whereas the soil population exhibits cephalothorax
diminutions (an edaphomorphism).
We recorded similar morphological adaptations to subterranean life in
several spider species. In the case of P. myops, we registered two principal
different routes of incursion into the undergroud realm. We registered two
different originator populations, which colonized two different shallow
underground habitats, and could have evolved into separate species when
colonizing the deep underground habitats.
The ‘hotspots’ of subterranean biodiversity in Dinaric Karst harbour
highly specialized forms at the end of a long-term underground evolution. Any
such previous specialized cave fauna at higher temperate latitudes must have
been eliminated by the rigorous periglacial climate; therefore the territory today
lying in the Pleistocene periglacial zones harbour invertebrates at the beginning
of their underground evolution.
Soil spiders?
Searching for the true edaphobionts, we evaluated the set of obvious
microphthalmous Central European spiders, by the exclusion of specialized
myrmecophilous species; supplemented by Wiehlea calcarifera (not
microphthalmous, but generally known as a soil inhabitant). The large species of
the genus Porrhomma are prevalent; they usually inhabit caves. P. microps also
inhabits the leaf litter, and the habitat of P. microcavense remains unknown. The
four smallest species i.e. Wiehlea calcarifera, Hahnia microphthalma,
Porrhomma cambridgei, and Pseudomaro aenigmaticus could be candidates for
soil spiders.
387
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
388
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
389
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
390
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The researches with spiders suggested that the richness of species and its
dominancy present a tendency to be highly related to the spatial heterogeneity,
determined by the plants community where they occur, their height, and by the
structure and composition of the litter. All these factors have a direct influence
on availability of refuges, structures to support the webs, places for
reproduction and deposition of the eggs (Rypstra et al. 1999) and are indirect
related to the diversity and abundance of preys (Souza 2007). In this study, a
mapping of the araneofauna (Arachnida, Araneae) from the campus of
Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), in the city of
Seropédica was made, purposing to characterize and identify the spider fauna,
investigating the effects of environmental complexity on spiders’ assemblages.
391
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Prof. Dr. Ildemar Ferreira, Prof. Dr. Marilia
Carvalho de Brasil Sato and Dr. Elaine Folly Ramos for the relevant presence in
this project and the encouragement. Thanks to Prof. Dr. Antonio Brescovit, for
important support in the identification of spiders. We also thank the CNPq and
the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro for the financial support. Rita
de Cássia Santos de Souza was supported by PIBIC UFRRJ/CNPq.
References
Canellas L.P., Berner P.G., Silva S.G., Silva M.B. & Santos G.A. 2000. Frações
da matéria orgânica em seis solos de uma toposseqüência no estado do rio
de janeiro. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, 35: 133-143.
Hore U. & Uniyal V.P. 2008. Diversity and composition of spider assemblages
in five vegetation types of the Terai Conservation Area, India. Journal of
Arachnology, 36: 251-258.
392
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
393
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
394
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
395
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Harvestmen are characterized by a pair of large prosomal scent glands.
These glands are most conspicuously developed in the suborders Laniatores and
Cyphophthalmi, but less developed in the third classical opilionid suborder, the
Palpatores. So far, data concerning scent gland morphology of Palpatores are
scarce and incomplete. Especially the Dyspnoi seem to exhibit aberrant scent
gland constructions and obviously complex, so far largely unknown secretion
modes (Juberthie et al. 1991, Schaider & Raspotnig 2009; Raspotnig et al.
2010). This study aims to shed light on the scent gland morphology of some
selected dyspnoid species.
Results
Several different glandular types in the dyspnoid species herein studied
could be distinguished: Scent glands of Nemastomatidae, such as found in
Paranemastoma quadripunctatum or Nemastoma lugubre, exhibit some
characteristic features of typical opilionid defensive glands, e.g. large-scale
reservoirs internally covered by an (extensively folded) intima. Scent gland
openings, leading to the ventral side of the body, are strikingly hidden and can
hardly be detected from the outside. In Trogulidae two types could be described.
Scent glands in Anelasmocephalus hadzii are filled with cobweb-like projections
of the glandular epithelium. The glands open into a kind of external secretion
atrium, bordered dorsally by an integumental fold, ventrally by the coxa of leg I
and laterally by a loose layer of cuticular papillae. Ozopores are completely
covered and cannot be seen from the outside. Scent glands of the Trogulus-type,
such as found in Trogulus tricarinatus, are also characterized by an external
secretion-atrium with a massive lateral layer of cuticular papillae and by the
presence of solid secretion balls in the scent gland reservoirs. By contrast, scent
396
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Discussion
Scent gland constructions of dyspnoid Troguloidea conspicuously differ
from the so far described defensive glands of other Opiliones as reported from
some Laniatores (Juberthie 1976), Cyphophthalmi (Gutjahr et al. 2005) and
palpatorid Eupnoi (Clawson 1988). Scent gland features like the cobweb-like
structures in the internal, glandular cavities of Anelasmocephalus or solid boli in
the reservoirs of Trogulus are not known from the latter groups and may
represent characteristics of the Dyspnoi. This assumption is underlined by the
fact that a similar situation with solid glandular contents in scent gland
reservoirs has also been described in ischyropsalids (Dyspnoi) (Juberthie et al.
1991). With respect to external features, a trend to hide ozopores – instead of
exposing them – can be observed: In particular the development of a secondary
atrium covering the ozopores may even be unique within the Troguloidea, and
has not been reported from the sister group Ischyropsalidoidea (Juberthie et al.
1991, Lopez et al. 1980).
The presence of distinct scent gland types especially in soil-dwelling
Dyspnoi may be indicative of multiple evolutionary traits that possibly resulted
in scent gland functions apart from typical chemical defence.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by a DOC-fFORTE-fellowship of the Austrian
Academy of Sciences at the Institute of Zoology, Karl-Franzens-University Graz
(project number 22852).
References
Clawson R.L. 1988. Morphology of defence glands of the opilionids (Daddy
Longlegs) Leiobunum vittatum and L. flavum (Arachnida: Opiliones:
Palpatores: Phalangiidae). Journal of Morphology, 196:363-381.
Giribet G. & Kury A.B. 2007. Phylogeny and biogeography. Pp 62-87. In: Pinto-
da-Rocha R., Machado G. & Giribet G. (eds.), Harvestmen. The biology
of Opiliones. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Gutjahr M., Schuster R. & Alberti G. 2005. Ultrastructure of dermal and defence
glands in Cyphophthalmus duricorius Joseph, 1868 (Opiliones: Sironidae).
In: Deltshev C. & Stoev P. (eds), European Arachnology 2005 Acta
Zoologica Bulgarica, Suppl. 1: 41-48.
Juberthie C. 1976. Chemical defence in soil Opiliones. Revue d Ecologie et de
Biologie du Sol, 13: 155-160.
397
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Juberthie C., Lopez A. & Juberthie-Jupeau L. 1991. Les glandes odorants des
Ischyropsalidae souterrains (Opilions): ultrastructure et role. Mémoires de
Biospéologie, 18: 39-46.
Lopez A., Emerit M. & Rambla M. 1980. Contribution a l´étude de Sabacon
paradoxum Simon, 1879 (Opiliones, Palpatores, Ischyropsalididae). Station
nouvelles, particularites électromicroscopiques du prosoma et de ses
appendices. C.R.Vé. Colloque Arach. IX, 1979 Barcelone, pp. 147-161.
Raspotnig G., Leutgeb V., Schaider M. & Komposch C. 2010. Naphthoquinones and
anthraquinones from scent glands of a dyspnoid harvestman, Paranemastoma
quadripunctatum. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 36: 158-162.
Schaider M. & Raspotnig G. 2009. Unusual morphology of scent glands in
Trogulus tricarinatus (Opiliones, Trogulidae): evidence for a non-
defensive role. Journal of Arachnology, 37: 78-83.
398
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
399
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
400
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The "species" is the basic unit of systematic and taxonomy and thereby
one of the most important units in the science of biology. But unlike in other
natural sciences, like physics or chemistry where units demand a clear definition,
the definition of a species naturally remains as variable as diversity itself and is a
constant issue of debate. At present about 26 definitions of “species” do exist.
They enable to define species in a variety of organisms that do not match other
species concepts or do extend species definition from present-day to future and
past. Despite these difficulties in definition, the “species” is the basis for any
political debate concerning diversity or conservation management. And while
the framework of species definitions in general deals with the human need to
classify diversity, species descriptions that meet the demand of more than one
concept appear more acceptable to satisfy modern needs.
Diversity is defined within a given frame, for example a group of
organisms or an ecosystem. The delineation of cryptic diversity and species
demands thorough knowledge of the system and its underlying mechanisms.
Only now, the next step of validation of diversity upon an appropriate species
concept is possible. So we can distinguish between variability and “true”
characters to delineate species. But how do we identify diversity? And which
characters for species delineation are useful within a set of variables? This
speech will give an overview on species concepts and methods used in
harvestmen systematic to deal with this central problem in biology.
Within arthropods, as well as in most other animals described in the last
centuries, the typological species concept, based on morphological characters,
prevailed. A morphospecies has the great advantage that, once a good
discriminating character is recognised, it can be identified by anyone without
involving expensive or difficult-to-access laboratory techniques. On the other
hand a lot of experience and knowledge is needed to identify intraspecific
variation compared to species delineating characters and it is often reasonable to
investigate other traits to discriminate the two.
For species described upon morphological characters alone the importance
of discriminating characters underwent a remarkable change when Silhavy
described several Opilio-species in Central Europe upon male genital
morphology. Albeit the size and colouration of the species varied, genital
morphology appeared constant, suggesting its high usage for species
identification, as known for many other groups of arthropods. Although this
dogmatic change first remained unacknowledged by the dominating scientist in
this field, C.F. Roewer, most of his species have or will face a revalidation of
401
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
their genital morphology. This was the case in the European genus Ischyropsalis
thoroughly revised by Martens.
Martens not only supported male genital morphology as key character in
many groups of Opiliones but showed combination with other morphological
features in Ischyropsalis. As in many Dyspnoi Ischyropsalis exhibits special
glands on the first cheliceral segment. Martens showed these glands to play an
important role in the mating process and their form and position on the
chelicerae to be species specific. He thereby showed mating behaviour to isolate
species and validated the connected morphological characters as useful to
identify biospecies.
The biological species concept, assuming reproductive isolation of a
species, is currently the most widely accepted species hypothesis. Nevertheless it
is upon the most difficult to substantiate. Direct confirmation is only possible
upon breeding experiments or indirectly by sympatric occurrence of species that
thereby obviously do not interbreed. Allopatric populations have to be
supported, for example, by ethological or morphological traits. The biospecies
concept is not applicable to a range of species for example fossils or
parthenogenetic organisms.
Speaking of allopatric populations, allopatry is known as one of the main
processes to induce speciation. It is common sense, despite being a “true”
definition, to include biogeographical information in the description and
delineation of species. A negative example is Roewer, who frequently misused
geographic information to describe species upon “remarkable” new records.
European Ischyropsalis showed an interesting distribution until Martens revised
the genus. Nevertheless, properly interpreted, biogeographic information is
important considering the isolation of populations that caused speciation as we
can show in several groups of the genus Trogulus.
Today, methods investigating genetic markers have strong influence on
many parts of biological science. Molecular analyses yield comparable and
quantifiable data that enable statistically evaluable results. The comparison of
homologous strands of DNA is a powerful tool to investigate and quantify
diversity in organisms beforehand showing no discriminating characters. Albeit,
the method can have many drawbacks and needs careful investigation of the
study system, that can cost a lot of time and money. Reviews strongly suggest
validation of species defined by barcoding upon other lines of evidence. The
phylogenetic species concept comes within the limit of this topic. It assumes any
independent genetic lineage as species, subsequently asking what is to be
considered as “independent”. This species concept is somehow difficult to
handle as it allows a very subjective view on species. Consequently, purely
genetically defined species are unconvincing when not supported by other
independent lines of evidence such as morphology or geographical traits. While
the field of molecular systematic answers important and sophisticated questions
on diversity, speciation and evolution, a mere genetic species definition needs
further support to be applicable and accepted in everyday life.
There are many other possibilities to delineate species, as behaviour or
chromosomes. But all need to be validated upon other traits to proof their
402
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
403
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction:
Spiders are an integral part of global biodiversity. They play many
important roles in ecosystems as predators and sources of food for other
creatures. Being insectivores, spiders are of economic value to human beings
because of their ability to suppress pest abundance in agroecosystems. Faced
with the need to reduce pesticide usage on crops and optimize natural biological
control, full investigation of the means by which spiders influence pest
abundance is long overdue. While arachnologists and others working in
agroecosystems have been encouraged by results of recent studies suggesting
that spiders can impact pest populations and reduce crop damage, most would
agree that agricultural arachnology is still in its infancy compared with the
breadth and depth of entomological research on Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) and biological control (Uetz et al. 1999). There is increasing evidence that
polyphagic predators, to which spiders belong, play an important role in the
regulation of the number of insects. To form a basis for research into the role of
spiders to determine the economic importance of them in different
agroecosystems, a survey of the araneid population along with the study of their
biology and ecology is necessary. Information of the spider species present, their
occurrence throughout the growing season and their abundance are important
and inevitable components of biological control and pest management in any
agroecosystem. Against this backdrop, a pioneering study was undertaken to
study the spider fauna in various agroecosystems in the state of Kerala in India.
Apart from documenting spiders, the study also envisaged to examine the
qualitative and quantitative aspects of their diversity, ecology, guild structure,
seasonality, etc in the various ecosystems.
404
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
405
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Aiken M. & Coyle F.A. 2000. Habitat distribution, life history and behavior of
Tetragnatha spider species in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Journal of Arachnology, 28: 97-106.
Barrion A.T. & Litsinger J.A. 1995. Riceland spiders of South and South-East
Asia. CAB International, UK and IRRI, Philippines, 700 pp.
Deeleman-Reinhold C.L. 2000. Forest Spiders of South East Asia: With a
Revision of the Sac and Ground Spiders (Araneae: Clubionidae,
Corinnidae, Liocranidae, Gnaphosidae, Prodidomidae, and
Trochanterriidae. Brill Academic Publishers, 591 pp.
Dippenaar-Schoeman A.S. & Jocqué R. 1997. African Spiders. An Identification
Manual. Plant Protection Institute Handbook No. 9. ARC, Plant Protection
Research Institute, Pretoria, 392 pp.
406
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
407
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Over the last few years, there have been many changes to our perception of
the evolutionary history of spiders, as evidenced by fossils. In particular, the
Mesozoic era, formerly almost barren of fossil spider records, is now much better
known. In this review of fossil spiders, I first discuss new methods for studying
spider fossils, including imaging techniques such as synchrotron x-ray CT
scanning.
Then recent finds of spider fossils, primarily from the Mesozoic era, are
discussed, with particular emphasis on how our perception of spider diversity
through geological time has changed as a result of these finds (see figure). Some
of the fossils in rock matrix preservation can be quite remarkably preserved, and
since the oldest amber with inclusions is early Cretaceous, rock matrix
preservation fossils extend our knowledge of fossil spider diversity much further
back in time. Finally, the reinterpretation of Attercopus, formerly the oldest known
spider, from the Devonian period, is discussed.
408
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
asestakova@gmail.com, krumpal@fns.uniba.sk
9
The project is partly supported by grant VEGA 1/0176/09.
409
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Rimma R. Seyfulina
Introduction
Linyphiidae are considered to be typical spiders for the northern
temperate zone, where they constitute the largest portion of the spider species
richness (e.g. Miller & Hormiga 2004). It is not surprising that most studies of
Linyphiidae have been focused on the Holarctic, leaving the fauna of other
regions rather understudied. Thus, the species richness of Linyphiidae in tropical
Africa was underestimated for a long time. Berland (1955) believed they are
very rare in Africa and absent from the western part of the continent because the
linyphiid fauna of the region was poorly known at that time. During the ensuing
years, the number of reported species quintupled, mostly with novel
descriptions. With more than 400 species described to date, this family is
outpaced for its diversity only by the Salticidae and Lycosidae from the
Afrotropical region. For comparison, more than 1350 linyphiid species are
reported from the Western Palaearctic (Europe and Northern Africa) bordering
with the Afrotropic and including, among others, cold temperate areas. This
number is probably close to the real species richness in the region, as at least
European linyphiid fauna is fairly well known and new species are rarely
described. So, the Linyphiidae are three times less diverse in tropical Africa than
in the adjacent zoogeographical region roughly equal to it in size. Is such a
pronounced difference due mostly to the shortage of taxonomic studies or does it
indeed reflect true biogeographical situation? In the attempt to answer this
interesting question, we estimated the total number of linyphiid spices in the
Afrotropical region using the unknown/known species ratio in samples collected
from several sites across tropical Africa by forest canopy fogging.
410
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Results
In this study, about 3350 specimens belonging to 84 species were
examined. The percentage of unknown species varies from 25% to 100%
between the localities. The total percentage of new species is 76, the weighted
mean is 69 per site. The Hodkinson’s formula produces the estimate of 1335
species. Taking into account that the arthropod fauna in canopy is twice as rich
in species as in the forest floor (Erwin, 1982) we reduced the estimated number
to 1000 species. Another calculation with using the data obtained by pitfall traps
in one of the studied localities (although not very representative, only fifty
specimens of 5 species were collected) yielded the same number.
Conclusions
The minimal estimated number of linyphiid spider species in tropical
Africa is 1000. The linyphiid species richness is similar between tropical Africa
and the Western Palaearctic or, more generally, does not differ drastically
between the temperate zone and the tropics. Probably the rain forests of tropical
Africa harbour as many linyphiids as boreal forests, a suggestion being in
agreement with the hygrophilous ecology of the Linyphiidae. However, in
temperate regions their fraction is much higher due to a sharp decrease in the
diversity of other spider groups.
References
Berland L. 1955. Les Arachnides De L’Afrique Noire Française. I.F.A.N. Dakar.
Erwin T.L. 1982. Tropical forests: their richness in Coleoptera and other
arthropod species. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 36(1): 74-75.
Hodkinson I.D. 1992. Global insect diversity revisited. Journal of Tropical
Ecology, 8: 505–508.
Miller J. & Hormiga G. 2004. Clade stability and the addition of data: A case
study from erigonine spiders (Araneae: Linyphiidae, Erigoninae).
Cladistics, 20: 385-442.
Stork N.E. 1987. Arthropod faunal similarity of Bornean rain forest trees.
Ecological Entomology, 12: 219-226.
411
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
412
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
413
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The study was aimed at to describe the effects of five wheat habitats
(which differed in adjacent crops and agronomic practices) on the activity
density, richness, evenness, diversity, guild structure of spiders and pest
populations. The study was conducted in district, Sheikhupura Punjab, Pakistan
during 2005-6 and 2006-7. A total of 23097 specimens of spiders belonging to
47 species, 31 genera and 12 families were collected from five different habitats.
Overall diversity and evenness of spiders did not differ among different habitats;
however activity density and richness of spiders was significantly different. All
sampled habitats had similar family and species composition. Significant
positive correlation was observed between active density of agrobiont spiders
and prey populations.
414
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Melghat Tiger Reserve (21°15'N - 21°45'N, 76°57’E - 77°30'E, 312 m -
1178 m a.s.l.) is situated in the Satpura hill ranges of Central India (Melghat
forests, Amravati district, Vidarbha region of Maharashtra) and is bordered with
Madhya Pradesh in the North and East. It is a typical representative of Central
Indian Highland forming a part of the biogeographic zone “6 E-Deccan
Peninsula”. The area constitutes forests which are part of world’s fifth biologically
richest heritage country and the Reserve forms an important corridor between
forest areas of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra ensuring contiguity of forests in
Satpuras. It beholds one of the viable populations the Royal Bengal Tiger, out of 5
surviving tiger subspecies, including all the Tiger range countries. Out of 237 -
240 Tigers in Maharashtra in 2002, 75 - 80 (about 30%) were reported from
Melghat Tiger Reserve.
Observations
A survey of araneids was carried out in Melghat Tiger Reserve during 2007-
2009. We have reported 87 species from 11 genera. The maximum species
diversity was noted from August to January, 2007-2009. Out of 87 species 25 are
new. Among the collected species 28 are males and 59 are females.
Table 1. Araneid genera and species recorded from Melghat Tiger Reserve.
Genus Number of species
1. Araneus 11
2. Argiope 4
3. Chorizopes 3
4. Cyclosa 16
5. Cyrtarachne 2
6. Cyrtophora 7
7. Gasteracantha 2
8. Larinia 6
9. Neoscona 28
10. Poltys 2
11. Zygiella 6
415
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Species
1. Araneus bilunifera Pocock Female
2. Araneus cucurbitinus Clerck Female
3. Araneus mitifica (Simon) Female
4. Araneus mitifica (Simon) Male
5. Araneus pachganiensis Tikader and Bal Female
6. Araneus pahalgaonensis Tikader and Bal Female
7. Araneus pahalgaonensis Tikader and Bal Male
8. Araneus sp. nov. Female
9. Araneus sp. nov. Female
10. Araneus sp. nov. Female
11. Araneus sp. nov. Male
12. Argiope aemula (Walckenaer) Male
13. Argione aemula (Walckenaer) Male
14. Argiope sp. nov. Female
15. Argiope sp. nov. Male
16. Chorizopes anjanes Tikader. Male
17. Chorizopes calciope (Simon) Female
18. Chorizopes khanjanes Tikader. Female
19. Cyclosa bifida (Doleschall) Female
20. Cyclosa bifida (Doleschall) Male
21. Cyclosa confraga (Thorell) Female
22. Cyclosa fissicauda Simon Female
23. Cyclosa hexatuberculata Female
24. Cyclosa insulana (Costa) Male
25. Cyclosa moonduensis Tikader Female
26. Cyclosa moonduensis Male
27. Cyclosa mulmeinensis (Thorell) Female
28. Cyclosa neilensis Tikader. Female
29. Cyclosa simoni Female
30. Cyclosa sp. nov. Female
31. Cyclosa sp. nov. Female
32. Cyclosa sp. nov. Female
33. Cyclosa sp. nov. Male
34. Cyclosa spirifera Simon. Female
35. Cyrtarachne bengalensis Tikader Female
36. Cyrtarachne sp. nov. Female
37. Cyrtophora bidenta Tikader Female
38. Cyrtophora cicatrosa (Stoliczka) Female
39. Cyrtophora citricola (Forskal) Female
40. Cyrtophora moluccensis (Doleschall) Female
41. Cyrtophora sp. nov. Female
42. Cyrtophora sp. nov. Female
43. Cyrtophora sp. nov. Male
44. Gasteracantha sp. nov. Female
416
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
417
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Paweł Siuda
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland, kainael.ps@gmail.com
418
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
419
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Body size distributions of spiders in natural habitats are still not well
understood. In the present study we particularly aim at analyzing changes of
body sizes along environmental gradients (warm - dry to moist - cool) that might
indicate changes in prey size and availability. We studied spider communities at
the Bug river valley in the eastern Poland. The Bug valley represents well
preserved European rivers. We trapped spiders within four differed habitats: a
riparian forest, fresh meadow, psammophilous grassland and mesoxerophilous
grassland.
Material was collected from April to November 2007 with pitfall traps,
and preserved in 75% alcohol. From each of the 12 analyzed spider assemblages,
we assessed total length and cephalothorax width for both sexes of each species.
We used Ellenberg indicator values (modified after Zarzycki 2002) for habitat
classification.
Preliminary results show the decrease in body size from warm and dry to
cool and moist habitats.
420
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Conflict between the sexes can lead to traits that bias the outcome of
reproduction in favour of one sex while imposing costs on the other. There are
numerous costs associated with polyandry for females (Chapman et al. 1995),
however, these costs appear to be offset in some taxa by benefits that elevate the
fitness of females that mate multiply compared to those that do not. Genetic
diversity may be a particularly important indirect benefit of polyandry if
offspring disperse to unpredictable habitats (Garant et al. 2005).
If variation in the paternity of offspring affects females’ fitness, then there
can be selection on females to shape paternity (Jennions & Petrie 2000)
independent of mating decisions, leading to post-copulatory sexual selection
(cryptic choice, Eberhard 1996). The two independent sperm storage organs of
females in many spider species allows laboratory manipulations that segregate
sperm of competitors in different spermathecae. This can isolate effects of
cryptic choice on variation in sperm use, since physical separation removes the
possibility of direct sperm competition. This provides a rare opportunity to test
for evidence of biases in sperm use by females (Eberhard 2005).
We staged matings between females and pairs of males of the Australian
redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti Thorell), with re-mating intervals
mimicking those expected in nature. There are two natural windows of
opportunity for mating by female redbacks. First, during and shortly after a
female’s first copulation, active sex pheromones on the web may lead to the
attraction of rival males and possible re-mating (Stoltz et al. 2007). Webs are
largely dismantled by males during courtship however, and the silk females use
to rebuild them no longer contains pheromones (Stoltz et al. 2007). Second, later
in the reproductive season, females re-advertise their receptivity by resuming
pheromone production, providing a second window of opportunity for mating
(Peramalpadas et al. 2008). It is not known how the interval between copulations
affects paternity or potential costs and benefits of polyandry, but such effects
could determine female and male fitness in nature.
421
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Results
Paternity. There was a significant effect of timing of insemination
(F1,37=9.53, p<0.001) on paternity. In the simultaneous treatment, average
paternity was mixed in most cases (mean P 2=49%, 95% CI: 37-61%) with P2
(paternity of second male) values between 20-80% in 79% (15/19) of the trials.
In the delayed treatment, after the second copulation the second male fathered
most offspring (mean P2=71%, 95% CI: 62-82%) with P2 values over 80% in
45% (10/22) of our trials. Thus, in the delayed treatment, although the first male
fathers all offspring produced in the first 2 months (prior to the second mating),
the 71% paternity of second males after this time reduced the overall first male
paternity to 47%., which is not significantly different from the 50% paternity
seen in the simultaneous treatment (t22=-0.37, p=0.71).
Longevity. To see whether there was a longevity cost of polyandry
compared to monandry, we compared survivorship of females in each treatment
in the 60 days following the first mating trial (prior to the second mating in the
delayed treatment). Delayed females (which had only mated once) had
significantly higher survivorship than simultaneous females (Wald=4.82, d.f.=1,
n=75, p=0.03). To see whether the cost of polyandry depended on the mating
interval, we also compared longevity of only those females that survived through
the first 60 days of the experiment (in this test, delayed females had also mated
a second time). Females with a delayed second mating lived significantly longer
(145+10 days) than those that mated with two males in quick succession
(simultaneous longevity: 104±15 days; ANCOVA F1,32=10.53, p=0.003).
Discussion
Our results show that, in redback spiders (1) females bias paternity to
favour genetic diversity of offspring, and the mechanism is selective sperm use
of sperm stored in different spermathecae, (2) polyandry decreases longevity of
females and (3) longevity costs of polyandry depend on the mating interval. Our
paternity data show that the overall effect of sperm use is that females roughly
equalize average paternity of the two males across the total number of offspring
produced in both simultaneous and delayed trials. This entails a shift from sperm
mixing to last-male sperm precedence when re-mating is delayed. This suggests
cryptic female choice for novel males. Moreover, our results show the timing of
female multiple mating has serious implications for female longevity and fitness.
Females that had simultaneous inseminations by two males had significantly
422
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Boorman E. & Parker G.A. 1976. Sperm (ejaculate) competition in Drosophila
melanogaster, and the reproductive value of females to males in relation to
female age and mating status. Ecological Entomology, 1: 145-155.
Chapman T., Liddle L.F., Kalb J.M., Wolfner M.F. & Partridge L. 1995. Cost of
mating in Drosophila melanogaster females is mediated by male
accessory gland products. Nature, 373: 241-244.
Eberhard W.G. 1996. Female control: sexual selection by cryptic female choice.
Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Eberhard W.G. 2004. Why study spider sex: special traits of spiders facilitate
studies of sperm competition and cryptic female choice. Journal of
Arachnology, 32: 545-556.
Garant D., Dodson J.J. & Bernatchez L. 2005. Offspring genetic diversity
increases fitness of female Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Behavioural
Ecology and Sociobiology, 57: 240-244.
423
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Jennions M.D. & Petrie, M. 2000. Why do females mate multiply? A review of
the genetic benefits. Biological Reviews, 75: 21-64.
Perampaladas K., Stoltz J.A. & Andrade M.C.B. 2008. Mated redback spider
females re-advertise receptivity months after mating. Ethology, 114: 589-
598.
Radhakrishnan P. & Taylor P.W. 2007. Seminal fluids mediate sexual inhibition
and short copula duration in mated female Queensland fruit flies. Journal
of Insect Physiology, 7: 741-745.
Snow L.S.E. & Andrade M.C.B. 2005. Multiple sperm storage organs facilitate
female control of paternity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London
Biological Sciences, 272: 1139-1144.
Stoltz J.A., McNeil J.N. & Andrade M.C.B. 2007. Males assess chemical signals
to discriminate just-mated females from virgins in redback spiders.
Animal Behaviour, 74: 1669-1674.
424
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Systematics provides an essential foundation for understanding,
conserving, and using biodiversity. Yet for many groups of organisms we lack
even basic information as the identity and numbers of species found in the
Western Ghats, one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world. Spiders are an
especially diverse and ecologically important group whose ecological
dominance has been a subject of intense study. Spiders generally have humidity
and temperature preferences that limit them to areas within the range of their
physiological tolerances, which in turn makes them ideal candidates for land
conservation studies. Hence there is an urgent need to provide taxonomic
resources for groups from tropical ecosystems in view of current global
biodiversity crisis. A more complete inventory of spiders is essential to advance
understanding of their ecology, evolution, and behaviour, and to take full
advantage of their demonstrated value in conservation priority setting,
biomonitoring and biological control.
During the course of this study, a quantitative survey of spiders in the
Nelliyampathy hill ranges of the Western Ghats was attempted along an
elevation gradient, with an aim to investigate the patterns of spider species
richness along the elevation gradient.
425
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
represents different forest types viz., tropical evergreen forest, moist deciduous
forests, shola forest and thorny scrub forest as their primary vegetation type.
Spiders were collected at a weekly interval for one month from 5th
December 2009 to 10th January 2010 at three principal localities along an
elevation gradient. The inventories were conducted at the following sites and
habitats:
1. Elevation zone 515-575 m a.s.l. (1033'36.8"N, 7643'02.7"E, evergreen forest),
2. Elevation zone 900-960 m a.s.l. (1032'01.2"N, 7640'51.8"E, evergreen forest),
3. Elevation zone 1325-1375 m a.s.l. (1032'28.4"N, 7644'15.1"E, moist deciduous
forest).
The random transect method was used for spider sampling. This technique
involves a combination of four collection methods - ground hand collection,
aerial hand collection, beating and sweeping. Time was used as a measure of
sampling effort to make the methods comparable. One sample unit equalled
continuous one hour during which all spiders encountered were collected. The
collected specimens were preserved in 75% alcohol in separate flat bottomed
tubes with labels containing information regarding the collection.
Complementarity and overlap of the spider assemblages at different
elevations were assessed using distinctness and beta-diversity indices.
Complementarity was calculated using the Marczewski-Steinhaus (M-S)
distance index: CMS=(a+b – 2j)/(a+b – j) where j=number of species found at
both elevations, a=number of species at elevation A, and b=number of species at
elevation B. CMS was chosen because of its simple and statistically valid
approach to comparing two biota, ranging from a value of 0 where there is less
distinctness between the communities, to a value of 1 when there is high
distinctness between the communities. Beta-diversity (species overlap between
elevations) was calculated by Sørensen's similarity index. β=2c/s1+s2 where,
s1=the total number of species recorded in the first community, s2=the total
number of species recorded in the second community, and c=the number of
species common to both communities. The Sørensen’s index is a very simple
measure of beta diversity, ranging from a value of 0 where there is no species
overlap between two communities, to a value of 1 when exactly the same species
are found in both communities. The number of species unique to an elevation
and the number of species shared between elevations were also compared.
Results
Taxonomic survey of the spider fauna in three different locations in the
Nelliyampathy ranges of the Western Ghats resulted in the documentation of a
total of 515 individuals of spiders belonging to 210 species, 153 genera and 37
families. The most dominant family was Araneidae with 32 species and second
dominant family was Salticidae with 27 species. Thomisidae (20), Lycosidae
(14), Theridiidae (14), Sparassidae (13) and Tetragnathidae (10) were the other
dominant families. Cyclosa mulmeinensis of family Araneidae was the
numerically dominant species (11 individuals) and the second dominant species
was Leucauge celebesiana (10 individuals) of family Tetragnathidae.
426
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Among the 210 species collected, 123 species were collected from an
altitude of 515-575 m a.s.l. A total of 101 species were collected from 900-960
m a.s.l. and a total of 51 species were collected from 1325-1375 m a.s.l. Out of
the 123 species collected from 515-575 m a.s.l., 38 species were shared with
900-960 m a.s.l. and 2 species were shared with 1325-1375 m a.s.l. Out of the
101 species collected from 900-960 m MSL altitude, 6 species were collected
both from 515-575 m a.s.l. and 1325-1375 m a.s.l. and another 17 species were
shared with 1325-1375 m a.s.l. Among the 51 species collected from the topmost
elevation, 23 species shared with mid elevation and 8 species with lowest
elevation were studied. This study revealed that elevation had measurable effect
on species richness, with the number of species at three elevations being
different. The number of species unique to lowest elevation was 77 while that of
mid elevation and high elevation was 40 and 20 respectively.
Measures of distinctness (CMS) and species overlap (β) between elevations
were significantly different especially between low elevation and high elevation
samples. CMS value was 0.795, 0.821 and 0.951 respectively between elevation
1-2, 2-3 and 1-3. Value of β was 0.339, 0.302 and 0.091 respectively between
elevation 1-2, 2-3 and 1-3. This analysis revealed that the greatest species
distinctness (CMS) and the lowest species overlap (beta) was between low
elevation and high elevation compared to low elevation – mid elevation and mid
elevation – high elevation.
Discussion
This study revealed the qualitative and quantitative richness of the spider
fauna in these ranges. The 37 spider families recorded from this region represent
62% of the total families reported from India. The number of species reported is
higher than the number recorded from any other regions surveyed in India. The
species richness is very high when compared to some other regions such as
Sikkim - 55 species and Andaman and Nicobar Islands - 65 species. The present
investigation is comparable to the study conducted at Purna Wildlife Sanctuary,
Gujarat where recorded 116 species and the study conducted at Parambikulam
Wildlife sanctuary of the Western Ghats where reported 147 species, which is
the highest number of species reported from an area in India. From these results,
it can be summarized that the spider fauna of Western Ghats of Kerala is rich
and diverse when compared to any other region in India. Because of the complex
interaction of various climatic factors like high rainfall and humidity, with
diverse topographical features, this region possesses many smaller but diverse
environmental niches that can support a diverse spider fauna.
Analysis of the diversity pattern revealed that diversity varied between
elevation gradient, indicating unique species compositions at each elevation.
Among the three elevations studied, the lower elevation recorded the highest
value of diversity. In this elevation, tropical evergreen forests form the chief
vegetation type, which is more complex in nature compared to other vegetation
types. The higher elevation recorded lower diversity and species richness.
Compared to low elevation and mid elevation, this area is occupied by moist
deciduous forest, which supports less spider diversity than evergreen forest. This
427
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
supports the correlation that exists between spider species diversity and habitat
types. A fundamental characteristic of mountain ecosystems is the drastic change
in vegetation as well as in climate from the base to the summit. Elevation
gradients create varied climates, along with resultant soil differentiation that
ultimately promotes diversification of both flora and fauna. The elevation
patterns of species richness are a consequence of many interacting factors, such
as plant productivity, competition, geographical area, historical or evolutional
development, regional species dynamics, regional species pool, environmental
variables, and human activity.
Despite being one of the most diverse groups of organisms, spiders have
largely been ignored by the conservation community and taxonomists alike.
Many threats to spider diversity have been documented, including habitat loss
and degradation due to deforestation, agriculture, grazing and urbanisation. The
major obstacle for spider conservation is an absence of public support, arguably
due to fear and ignorance. Conservation of spiders thus necessitates a greater
understanding by the general public, scientists, land use managers and
conservationists about the importance of bringing these fascinating creatures
onto the conservation radar screen.
428
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Mahendri is a dry deciduous forest in Satpuda (India). It represents mixed
flora with dominance of tall trees and streams. It is a tiger land and has a good
herbivore population. Grazing is the threat for the existing flora and fauna. It lies
on 21°29'33.08"N and 78°20'05.80"E. The spiders are recorded from different
selected habitats which include riparian habitat, grasslands, dry deciduous forest,
mixed forest with tall trees and shrubs. Survey was also carried out for ground
spiders and spiders from slow flowing shallow streams, spiders from decaying
barks of trees, debris and crevices of rocks.
Results
The study included 238 species from 24 families and 77 genera (Tab. 1).
The spider diversity was in the order of Lycosidae, Thomisidae, Araneidae,
Gnaphosidae, Oxyopidae.
Within the rich spider diversity we have noted some morphological
variation in both sexes of Nephila pilipes occurring in small isolated habitats of
Mahendri.
In males (India: Maharashtra State, Amravati District, Mahendri village,
dry deciduous to riparian) three colour morphs were observed, showing
cephalothorax yellowish red to reddish brown; abdomen faint yellowish with
single longitudinal black line - to yellow with three longitudinal black colour
stripes.
In females the metatarsus of first and fourth legs showed colour variations.
Most of them (32) had black legs, 6 specimens (same population) had distinctive
yellow band on the anterior one-third portion of metatarsus of first legs and two
yellow bands on the fourth legs. The tarsus of fourth leg also showed yellow
band at its anterior tip. Some of the females (11) showed a bunch of bushy hairs
on the metatarsus. From the same habitat we have also collected females (5)
with yellow band only on the anterior tip of tarsus and not on metatarsus. These
colour morphs seem to be discontinuous from riparian to dry deciduous
ecosystems, suggesting distinctive phenotypical variation in Nephila pilipes
living in the same habitat.
429
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Table 1. Spider families, genera and species recorded from Proposed Mahendri Wild
Life Sanctuary (2006-09).
430
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
431
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
432
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Paweł Szymkowiak
433
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
434
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
435
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
436
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
437
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
438
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
439
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
feasibility of using juvenile spider exuviae (i.e., cuticular moults) for species
identification in DNA barcoding. Finally, we generated preliminary hypotheses
for a crab spider species (Thomisidae) using techniques involving DNA
sequences. We found that distinguishing spider species was not as unambiguous
or straightforward as has been proposed. About 8% of all species shared
identical barcodes and the variability between species overlapped with the
differences within species. However these did not translate to an overall low
identification success. Considering only those species with multiple sequences,
92% of the sequences were correctly identified using “best match”. We also
demonstrated that spider exuviae (moults) can be used to identify juvenile
spiders. The logistical challenge of extracting DNA from exuviae and ensuring
no degradation or contamination can be met. Of nine exuviae from eight species
representing three families (Araneidae, Nephilidae and Salticidae), eight exuviae
were correctly identified. The DNA barcoding of exuviae is shown to be a non-
lethal, non-invasive method for juvenile spider identification and is especially
useful when the species is rare and endangered or adults are needed for
behavioural research. DNA barcoding as a tool to match male-female of
dimorphic species were tested using a pair of sexually dimorphic crab spiders
whose species is currently unknown. DNA barcodes together with somatic
morphological characters and ecological data provided an initial hypothesis
about the crab spider species pair. All together, this study shows that DNA
barcoding is of limited use when sampling is weak, but it can nevertheless be
useful as long as one is aware of the strengths and weaknesses. DNA barcoding
is useful because many routine identifications can be done by non-experts.
440
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
441
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Some predators use deceptive visual signals to lure prey and therefore the
design of visual signal is very important. Results of previous studies on diurnal
spiders show that the bright body colouration of some orb weaving spiders are
attractive to insects. However, the bright colour signals of spiders were also
found to be attractive to predators. Therefore, the current body colouration
pattern of numerous diurnal orb-weaving spiders might reflect a trade-off
between pressures of attracting prey and avoiding predators. Many orb-weaving
spiders hunt exclusively nocturnally and previous studies showed that some also
use visual signal to lure prey. Currently, the factors determining the visual lure
signal design of nocturnal spiders are still not clear? In this study, we evaluated
factors influencing nocturnal visual signal design by studying a nocturnal orb
weaving spider, Necoscona punctigera. We first measured reflectance spectra of
various kinds of collared cardboard papers and used them to make dummies. The
chromatic property, signal intensity and signal form of dummies were
manipulated to evaluate these treatments’ effects on nocturnal insect
attractiveness. The results of field experiments showed that webs containing
dummies with standard signal form attracted significantly more prey than webs
without dummies, indicating that chromatic signal alone is sufficient in
attracting nocturnal prey. When the signal arrangement pattern or intensity of
dummies was changed, their prey attraction rate did not significantly from that
of standard dummies. However, the prey attraction rate of dummies with signal
chromatic properties changed was significantly lower than that of standard
dummies. These results show that current body colouration pattern of N.
punctigera is a very effective visual lure. Why this nocturnal orb spiders’ luring
signal is so attractive and what important attributes of prey’s resources does this
signal mimic awaits further study.
442
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
443
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
for the number, although populations in the easternmost part of the prefecture
including Is. Shôdo invariably show 2n=16;
3) Populations in the western part of Kagawa Prefecture are polymorphic
(2n=12/13/14) or monomorphic (2n=12).
Interestingly, distributional range of the 2n=12 populations in western part
of Kagawa Prefecture overlaps that of the 2n=20 populations which represent
westernmost end of the series of successive changes in chromosome number
from 2n=16 in easternmost part of Kagawa Prefecture, at Mt. Ryûô, without any
indication of hybridization (Eight of 10 males from a site near the summit of the
mountain showed 2n=12, while the other two were of 2n=20). This means that
the 2n=12 population is reproductively fully isolated from the 2n=20 population.
However, both the forms intergrade one another through populations with
intermediate numbers (2n=14, 16, 18), making narrow zones of contact in the
areas where two neighbouring populations with different chromosome numbers
abut in San-yô side of Chugoku District (Okayama and Hyogo Prefectures),
Honshu. Thus, the overlap of the distributional ranges of 2n=12 and 2n=20
populations with a series of intermediate populations connecting both ends can
be safely considered a case of circular overlap that arose from successive
increase (or decrease) of chromosome numbers.
References
Barton N.H., Briggs D.E.G., Eisen J.A., Goldstein D.B. & Patel N.H. 2007.
Evolution. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor,
New York, 833 pp.
Coyne J.A. & Orr H.A. 2004. Speciation. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA,
545 pp.
Mayr E. 1963. Animal Species and Evolution. Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 797 pp.
Ridley M. 1996. Evolution. 2nd ed. Blackwell Science, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.,
719 pp.
444
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
445
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Clingenpeel L.W. & Edgar A.L. 1966. Certain ecological aspects of Phalangium
opilio (Arthropoda: Opiliones). Papers of the Michigan Academy of
Science, Arts and Letters, 51: 119-126.
Crawford R.L. & Marusik Y.M. 2006. Harvestmen (Arachnida: Phalangida or
Opiliones) of Moneron Island. In: Flora and fauna of Moneron Islands of
Moneron Island (Materials of International Sakhalin Island Project).
Vladivostok: Dalnauka, pp. 196-201.
Forster R.R. 1962. A key to the New Zealand harvestmen Part 1. Tuatara, 10:
129-137.
Gritzenko N.I. 1979. Materials on the Opiliones fauna from Primorye region. In:
Ler P.A. (ed.), Terrestrial Arthropoda of the Far East. Academia Nauk
SSSR, Vladivostok, pp. 124-132.
Gruber J. & Hunt G.S. 1973. Nelima doriae (Canestrini), a south European
harvestman in Australia, and New Zealand (Arachnida, Opiliones,
Phalangiidae). Records of the Australian Museum, 28: 383-392.
Juberthie C. 1956. Nombres chromosomiques chez les Sironidae, Trogulidae,
Ischyropsalidae, Phalangiidae (Opiliones). Les Comptes rendus de
l'Académie des sciences, 242: 2860-2862
Martens J. 1978. Weberknechte, Opiliones. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands. 64 Teil.,
Gustav Fischer, Jena, 464 pp.
446
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
447
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Micronesian Hull, 1920 is one of the largest and most diverse linyphiid
subfamilies, and their members have some of the most morphologically complex
genitalia. Micronetinae includes several highly heterogeneous and polyphyletic
genera (e.g., Lepthyphantes Menge 1866). The results of a recently published
phylogenetic analysis of Linyphiidae, based on morphological and nucleotide
sequence data, do not support the monophyly of Micronetinae. In the present
study, we have expanded our earlier micronetine taxonomic sampling to include
representatives of 35 genera (with each genus represented by its type species
and, in most cases, one or more additional representatives) to further test the
monophyly of Micronetinae and of many of its genera. We also study the
internal relationships as well as the placement of micronetines within
Linyphiidae. Outgroup taxa were represented by 25 species from other linyphiid
subfamilies, and Pimoidae (the sister group of Linyphiidae), as well as
representative species of Tetragnathidae and Theridiidae. More than 260
morphological characters were scored for our study taxa for phylogenetic
reconstruction. In addition to those characters used in recent analyses of
linyphiid phylogenetics, 50 new characters from epigynal morphology were
included in this study. Furthermore, we discussed the evolution of micronetine
genitalia based on the resulting phylogeny.
448
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The type of the forest growth includes many factors influencing the species
diversity and the number of soil invertebrates. Suitable interferences with the natural
forest, resulting in higher habitat diversity, have positive influence on diversity of
the soil invertebrates. The edge effect is one of the most important factors (Jokimäki
et al. 1998, Magura et al. 2002). On the other hand, a lot of forests have been split
into small isolated forest areas and clearings due to over cutting, which can lead to
small species diversity and even to the local extinctions (Siitonen & Martikainen
1994, Niemelä 1997). Clearings are also the invincible barrier for the most of the
forest soil invertebrates (Esseen et al. 1997).
This study is focused on the distribution of epigeic spiders (Arachnida:
Araneae) in the different age floodplain forests. Spiders are used as the ecological
model frequently because they play an important role as predators, the knowledge
on their biology is relatively high and the sampling methods are well developed.
Results
Of almost 3,000 specimens of ground-dwelling spiders, 39 species were
identified. The most dominant species were lycosid Pardosa lugubris (40%),
amaurobiid Coelotes terrestris (16%), liocranid Agroeca brunnea and lycosid
Trochosa terricola (both 9%).
The amount of spiders caught in traps during the study period was the highest
in the ecotone zone between afforested 2 years old site and 10 years old oaks
449
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
monoculture, as well as in the ecotone between 10 years old oaks monoculture and
87 years old floodplain forest. Nevertheless, diversity indices in these positions were
among the lowest. The highest diversity was found in traps placed in the ecotone
zone between 2 years old site and 127 years old floodplain forest. The communities
sampled by traps inside 10 years old oaks monoculture had higher diversity than in
the other sites.
The whole CCA model explained 48.3% of species variability and was
significant after Monte Carlo test. All of the environmental factors were significant
for the prediction of spider catches, but the presence of shrubs and the litter coverage
can be considered as the most significant ones. Abundance of 14 species of spiders
had a significant response to the coverage of shrubs and 3 species of spiders to the
litter-coverage. Species Coelotes terrestris, Agroeca brunnea, Ozyptila pratensis
and Cicurina cicur were more abundant in the areas distant to shrubs, on the
contrary of other 11 species (e.g. Diplostyla concolor, Pardosa pullata, Pirata
hygrophilus and Zelotes subterraneus). Pardosa lugubris and Diplostyla concolor
preferred ground densely covered by leaf litter.
Conclusions
According to the results, we can conclude that the structure of the spider
communities, as well as abundance of spider species, are highly dependent on the
amount of leaf litter and on the presence of shrubs. Also, ecotone zone has a positive
effect on overall number of spiders caught during the research and as such presents
precious environment. It appears that spiders are really sensitive to the landscape
structure and therefore the structure of spider communities can be highly influenced
by the forest management.
Acknowledgement
We would like thanks to the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic
(No. SP/2D3/155/08) and Czech National Research Programme II (No. 2B 06101)
for support this work.
References
Esseen P.A., Ehnström E., Ericson L. & Sjöberg K. 1997. Boreal forests. Ecological
Bulletin, 46: 16-47.
Jokimäki J., Huhta E., Itämies J. & Rahko P. 1998. Distribution of arthropods in
relation to forest patch size, edge, and stand characteristics. Canadian Journal
of Forest Research, 28: 1068-1072.
Magura T., Tóthmérész B. & Bordán Z. 2002. Carabids in an oak-hornbeam forest:
testing the edge effect hypothesis. Acta Biologica Debrecina, 24: 55-72.
Niemelä J. 1997. Invertebrates and boreal forest management. Conservation
Biology, 11: 601-610.
Siitonen J. & Martikainen P. 1994. Occurrence of rare and threatened insects living
on decaying Populus tremula: a comparison between Finnish and Russian
Karelia. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 9: 185-191.
450
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
451
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Gabriele Uhl
Ever since Darwin we have been increasingly aware of the important role
that sexual selection plays in shaping animal behaviour, physiology and
morphology. Eye catching extravagant traits such as the antlers of deer or the
train of male peacocks have attracted much attention. However, we are
surrounded by a wealth of tiny species that display equally extravagant traits.
Dwarf spiders (also called money spiders; Erigoninae: Linyphiidae) are minute
and most of them are strongly sexually dimorphic. Only males possess cephalic
regions that are modified into deep grooves, pits, tube-like depressions, bulges,
lobes, or even turrets. We investigated the anatomy of head structures and found
that they are always connected with extensive glandular tissue, whose secretions
are stored in large reservoirs. Behavioural observations showed that females
contact the male head structures during mating, release saliva onto the male head
to imbibe the fluid shortly after. These findings strongly suggest that these
modifications and their secretions evolved in the context of sexual selection.
Studies are presented that investigate this phenomenon on ultrastructural,
biochemical, behavioural and phylogenetic levels.
452
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Because all spiders are predators and most subdue their prey by applying
poison, it has been suggested that fear of spiders is an evolutionary adaptation.
However, it has not been sufficiently examined, whether other arthropods
similarly elicit fear or disgust. We thus compared ratings derived from the visual
perception of spiders, beetles, hymenoptera (bees and wasps) and lepidoptera
(butterflies and moths). Our aim was to test whether all arthropods rate similarly
or whether only a subset elicits comparable responses. We predicted that based
on an evolutionary adaptation to potential harmfulness spiders and hymenoptera
should rate similarly.
75 students viewed pictures and rated them individually. We presented 15
gray scale pictures of each arthropod group in random order. Participants rated
anxiety, disgust, and how dangerous they thought the animal was and
categorized each animal into one of the four animal groups. In addition, we
assessed a screening for fear of spiders. The picture ratings demonstrate that
spiders elicit significantly more fear and disgust than any other arthropod and
they are rated as more dangerous. The extent of fear of spiders is highly
correlated with the ratings of spiders but not with the ratings of other arthropods.
We conclude that harmfulness itself cannot explain why spiders are feared
so often.
References
Gerdes A.B.M., Alpers G.W. & Pauli P. 2009. Spiders are special: fear and
disgust evoked by pictures of arthropods. Evolution and Human Behavior,
30: 66-73.
453
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
454
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
10
The two most abudant species are H. granulatus (Ellingsen) and H. obscurus
(Tullgren), with the former more common in the drier, western part of the region and H.
obscurus widely distributed in the eastern section; however, the two species also overlap
in the centre. The other seven Southern African species are less common: H. brevipes
Beier and H. modestus Chamberlin have been recorded from one site only, H. asper
Beier from two localities, and H. gracilis Beier from three localities. H. montanus Beier
and H. transvaalensis Beier have been recorded from six sites each and H. zonatus Beier
from seven.
455
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
456
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
457
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
458
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
During the last decades, urban population has strongly increased, creating
intensive urban areas (Douglas 1992, Fenger 1999, Weber 2003). Urbanization
can be defined as the installation process of anthropogenic structures (e.g.
buildings, roads) to the detriment of natural or farming areas, to satisfy human
population requirements (Croci et al. 2008). At the same time, social demands
for nature and biodiversity within the city (at individual or local authority levels)
are increasing (Chiesura 2004, Clergeau 2007). These two statements lead to the
development of studies about « biodiversity and urbanization ». A large part of
studies on this topic are based upon the analysis of assemblages along urban-
rural gradients. These studies mainly focused on three biological models: birds,
ground beetles and plants. Studies on other models are more marginal, including
one on spiders (Shochat et al. 2004).
Within a PhD project, we focus on a particular, under-investigated habitat:
residential areas, located in the peri-urban zone. 50% of the urbanized area is
dedicated to green space (private garden, public green space.). Since few years, a
new type of residential form has been developed in France. They promote public
green spaces (where the use of pesticides is very low or null) and reduce private
green spaces. In this study, we will test if this new type of residential areas are
characterized by higher animal species richness (notably for spiders, but also for
ground beetles, butterflies and birds) compared to those of classical residential
types (mainly housing estate). We are also interested in studying biodiversity at
the edge between urban and rural habitats.
The experimental design encompass two types of urban forms, each
spatially replicated three times: new urban form and housing estate (old form).
Sites were selected for presenting the same age and similar surface. At each site,
between 40 and 45 sampling points were randomly set up in public hedges. For
each sample point, local (vegetation cover, nature of the litter, temperature,
hygrometry …) and landscape (composition and density of hedge network,
neighbourhood structure…) variables were estimated and integrated in a GIS.
We studied the effect of different local and landscape factors on spider
assemblages. Additionally, three urban-rural transects of 1.200 meters long, and
including seven sampling points (established in hedgerows), were sampled. Sites
were located in peri-urban cities around Rennes (Brittany, France). The trapping
has been conducted by pitfall traps, continuously between April 20 and June 17,
2009.
In total, 5,063 individuals belonging to 137 species were collected. 25
families were represented, of which Lycosidae was dominant (42% of
459
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
This study finally showed that, in city, spider species' richness is not
dependent on population density. Population density is estimated by the number
of houses (dwellings, residences) in each hectare (richness=72.6135+0.5335 *
housing/ha; r²=0.1; p=0.2). The neighbourhood design could be one factor.
Currently, we are investigating and testing the effect of hedgerow connectivity
on spider populations, in particular for forest-living species (e.g. Pardosa
saltans).
460
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Chiesura A. 2004. The role of urban parks for the sustainable city. Landscape
and Urban Planning, 68: 129-138.
Clergeau P. 2007. Une écologie du paysage urbain. Apogée, Rennes, 142 pp.
Croci S., Buter A., Georges A., Aguejdad R. & Clergeau P. 2008. Small urban
woodlands as biodiversity conservation hot-spot: a multi-taxon approach.
Landscape Ecology, 23: 1171-1186.
Douglas I. 1992. The case for urban ecology. Urban Nature Magazine, 1: 15-17.
Fenger O. 1999. Urban air quality. Atmospheric Environment 33: 4877-4900
Shochat E. Stefanov W.L., Whitehouse M.E.A. & Faeth S.H. 2004.
Urbanization and spider diversity: influences of human modification of
habitat structure and productivity. Ecological Applications, 14: 268-280.
Weber C. 2003. Interaction model application for urban planning. Landscape
and Urban Planning 63: 49-60
Weller B. & Ganzhorn J.U. 2004. Carabid beetle community composition, body
size, and fluctuating asymmetry along an urban-rural gradient. Basic and
Applied Ecology, 5: 193-201.
461
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Organic plant and animal matter in different degradation stages constitutes
the leaf litter structure, providing a range of microhabitats, influencing
temperature and light conditions (Barbosa & Faria 2006) and supporting variety
of animals (Vallejo et al. 1987).
The studies in temperate forest provided data on influence of leaf litter on
spider composition. Uetz (1976) showed also that spider abundance and
diversity was affected by the flooding regime. Stevenson and Dindal (1982)
found that the space inside the deposited leaves, the lower surface of twisted
leaves and the gaps between the leaves may serve as microhabitat for smaller
species.
Wagner et al. (2003) found that the leaf litter depth and stratification
influence families, guilds and body size by creating foraging conditions.
However, it is still unclear the way in which spiders respond to leaf litter
structural changes in tropical forests. Spiders may use the environment structure
as refugia from predators, foraging, breeding, shelter or web building (Uetz
1976, Vallejo et al. 1987).
Understanding the structural patterns of leaf litter composition may help in
understanding its influence on spider biology, composition and habitat use and
may contribute to management in natural biota.
The objective of this study was to verify the leaf litter structural influence
on the richness and abundance of spiders in an Atlantic Forest remnant in the
municipality of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
462
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Results
We collected 90 spider species, representing 11 families. The most
frequent were Theridiidae (n=33), Oonopidae (n=14), Salticidae (n=14) and
Scytodidae (n=14), making 83.33% of all species. The most abundant was
Coleosoma floridana Banks, 1900 (n=14).
The leaf litter structure influenced the spiders abundance during the first
sampling season (p <0.0001, r ² 1.0000). Small flat leaves, large flat leaves, large
curved leaves and litter depth were the covariates positively influencing the
spider abundance. Small curved leaves, slightly straight and slightly curved
influenced negatively. There also was leaf litter structural significant influence
during second sample season on spiders abundance (p <0. 0001; r² 1.000). The
covariates slightly straight and slightly curved influenced positively and small
flat leaves, small curved leaves, large flat leaves, large curved leaves and litter
depth influenced negatively.
Discussion
Our results agree with the literature data. Several studies in a variety of
ecosystems suggest that spiders are susceptible to various environmental
variables and structural complexity (Uetz 1976, Wagner et al. 2003, Stevenson
& Dindal 1982. The negative influence of the leaves in the second sample
season may be as a result of more intense rainfall (average 149.1 mm, Inmet
2008), generating a lower production and increasing leaf litter degradation
(Souto 2006).
The negative influence of the leaf litter depth was not expected. Uetz
(1976) showed that the growing leaf litter depth increases the abundance of
spiders. We found a relationship between the depth of the leaf litter and the
amount of leaves. In temperate forests Uetz (1976) found that during the rainy
season the availability of prey is more important than the complexity of the
habitat, which may be expressed here.
The study demonstrated the importance of analyzing the leaf litter
structure in analysing spider faunas and assemblages and provides the useful
data for microhabitat management.
References
Banks N. 1900. Some new North American spiders. Canadian Entomologist. 32:
96-102.
Barbosa J.H.C. & Faria S.M. 2006. Aporte de serrapilheira ao solo em estágios
sucessionais florestais na Reserva Biológica de Poço das Antas, Rio de
Janeiro, Brasil. Rodriguésia, 3: 461-476.
463
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
464
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
465
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
466
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Ghione S., Viera C. & Costa F.G. 2004. Ability to capture prey in early instars
of the subsocial spider Anelosimus cf. studiosus (Henz, 1850) from
Uruguay (Araneae, Theridiidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological
Society, 13(2): 60-62.
Viera C., Costa F.G., Ghione S. & Benamú-Pino M.A. 2007. Progeny,
development and phenology of the sub-social spider Anelosimus cf.
studiosus (Araneae, Theridiidae) from Uruguay. Studies on Neotropical
Fauna and Environment, 42(2): 145-153.
Viera C., Ghione S. & Costa F.G. 2006. Regurgitation among juveniles in the
subsocial spider Anelosimus cf. studiosus (Araneae, Theridiidae). Journal
of Arachnology, 34(1): 258-260.
Viera C., Ghione S. & Costa F.G. 2007. Mechanisms underlying egg-sac
opening in the subsocial spider Anelosimus cf. studiosus (Araneae,
Theridiidae. Ethology, Ecology & Evolution, 19(1): 61-67.
Viera C., Ghione S. & Costa F.G. 2007. Post-embryonic development of the
sub-social spider Anelosimus cf. studiosus (Araneae, Theridiidae). Bulletin
of the British Arachnological Society, 14(1): 30-32.
467
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Cor J. Vink1, Craig B. Phillips2, José G.B. Derraik3 & Phil J. Sirvid4
1
Biosecurity Group, AgResearch, Lincoln, New Zealand & Entomology Research
Museum, Ecology Department, Lincoln University, New Zealand,
cor.vink@agresearch.co.nz
2
Biosecurity Group, AgResearch, Lincoln, New Zealand
3
Disease and Vector Research Group, Institute for Natural Sciences, Massey University,
Auckland, New Zealand
4
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington, New Zealand
468
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Real-time remote diagnostic tools have the potential to change the way
arachnological specimens are examined and identified. We selected and trialled
four internet-based video conferencing software systems for their applicability to
real-time remote diagnostics. Trials were conducted using standardised tests for
image resolution and latency, and real diagnostic challenges were set using
spider specimens. The tests were conducted within and between research
organizations in New Zealand, and with an international collaborator in Western
Australia. The most important features of a good remote microscopy system
were identified as cost, ease of set-up and use, image quality, the ability to
capitalise on high-speed research networks, vocal communication capability, and
a remote pointer. The greatest impediment was obtaining access through
institutional firewalls. More generic solutions to this problem are required if the
full potential of remote communication technologies is to be realised.
Real-time remote diagnostic tools have particular potential for use in
taxonomic studies, to avoid time delays and possible damage to valuable
specimens during transportation. A study of the costs and benefits of remote
diagnostics for accessing spider and insect specimens in the New Zealand
Arthropod Collection with be discussed.
469
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
470
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
471
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
A survey of spiders in paddy fields was carried out from October 1994 to
September 1996 at Pathumthani, Suphanburi, Chachengchao, Nontaburi,
Nakhonsawan, Chiang-Mai, Ratchaburi, Songkhla and Nakonrachasima
provinces. The collected fauna included 14 families, 36 genera and 50 species,
21 species newly recorded for Thailand. The species were general predators,
feeding on green rice leafhoppers, rice brown plant hoppers, rice cutworms, stem
borers and stink bugs.
472
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
473
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
474
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
References
Kajak A. 1960. Changes in the abundance of spiders in several meadows.
Ekologia Polska, 9: 199-228.
Kajak A. 1965. An analysis of food relations between the spiders – Araneus
cornutus Clerk and Araneus quadratus Clerk – and their prey in meadows.
Ekologia Polska, 32: 717-764.
Kajak A. & Łuczak J. 2003. Spiders – meaning, quantity, structure, spatial
localization. In: Andrzejewski R. (ed), Kampinoski Park Narodowy, vol.
Wydawnictwo Kampinoski Park Narodowy, Izabelin, pp. 539-563.
475
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
476
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
477
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
478
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Escola de Artes Ciências e Humanidades, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP,
Brazil, willemart@usp.br
The use of scent gland secretions against predators is a costly defense that has
convergently evolved in several taxa. In detailed analyses of arthropod behaviour,
chemicals have consistently been shown be the responsible for repelling the specific
predators. We studied the interaction between the harvestman Discocyrtus invalidus,
a heavy bodied animal which bear a pair of scent glands, and the spider
Enoploctenus cyclothorax, a generalist predator. In the first experiment, we left E.
cyclothorax with either D. invalidus or a cricket (control) for 5 days in a recipient
(n=16). The survival rate of harvestmen was 100%, and that of crickets was below
25%. In the second experiment, we observed details of the interaction by digitally
recording 32 spiders divided in 2 treatments (harvestmen and crickets, n=16). Most
spiders rejected the prey but in none of the videos could we notice the release of
scent gland secretions. In an attempt to explain why rejection occurred, we designed
a third experiment where we tested the hypothesis that harvestmen would release
little amounts of secretions, invisible to the human eye, and that these would be
responsible for the rejection by the spiders. We digitally recorded 52 spiders, divided
into 4 treatments of 13 spiders each (harvestmen with gland obstructed with glue,
harvestmen with glue on the dorsum, crickets with glue on the dorsum and crickets
with no glue). Harvestmen were significantly less preyed than crickets, the glue had
no effect and blocking the glands did not interfere in the results. A comparative
fluxogram between the behaviour of spiders against crickets and harvestmen
allowed us to clearly show how spiders behave differently when facing these two
prey. We also tested the effect of the harvestmen secretion per se, by applying
harvestmen secretions between the chelicerae of a spider, immediately after it
captured a cricket (control: distilled water). None of the spiders released their prey.
Since the role of chemicals in rejection were ruled out, we designed a fifth
experiment to test whether E. cyclothorax could pierce the integument of D.
invalidus and we found that only one out of ten spiders did it. Finally, we provide
SEM micrographs to show that only the articulations, mouth and tip of the legs are
not covered by a hard integument in several harvestmen species. Our combined
results have implications in the understanding of proximate mechanisms of prey-
predator interactions: this is the first experimental evidence that chemically defended
harvestmen do not use their scent gland secretions to repel a much larger predator
but rather rely on their heavily built body.
479
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
480
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
481
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
The members of the genus Myrmarachne (Salticidae) resemble ants
morphologically and behaviourally. Around 250 species are recorded all over the
world, of them around 80 from Southeast Asia and 10 from Borneo.
The purpose of this study is to describe new species and to redescribe the
known species from Borneo, and to review the taxonomic system of Myrmarachne
in Southeast Asia.
M. borneensis and M. shelfordii are described from Borneo in 1907.
However, it is difficult to identify these two species without comparison with type
specimens because there are no drawings in these descriptions. The redescriptions of
M. borneensis and M. shelfordii are needed to facilitate to identify these species.
Most Myrmarachne species have been described based on a few specimens
in previous studies. This has resulted in the misunderstanding of male/female
combination of a certain species because taxonomists have to guess the combination
based only on morphological data. Males and females of the same species have been
described separately as different species. It is expected that a number of specific
names in Southeast Asia may be junior synonyms. Commonly the males of
Myrmarachne become the adults earlier than the conspecific females, and wait for
them becoming adults near their nests. The direct observation in the field is
considered important in particular for the study of this group of spider.
482
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
483
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
484
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
485
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
The Euophryinae has worldwide distribution and is the only major group
of jumping spiders (Salticidae) to have diversified into many genera in both the
Old and New World, which makes its historical biogeography particularly
interesting. As one of the largest subfamilies of jumping spiders, the
Euophryinae currently contains at least 95 genera and more than 800 species.
However, its phylogeny is poorly studied. To clarify the phylogeny of the
subfamily and understand its historical biogeography, we amplified and
sequenced five genes (mitochondrial: COI, 16SrDNA, NADH1; nuclear: 28S
rDNA, Actin) from species collected from the major distribution areas of this
subfamily. In total, 265 euophryine species (218 identified species of 69 genera
and 47 unidentified species of 12 potentially new genera) and 30 outgroups are
included in the phylogenetic analysis. The result strongly supports the
monophyly of euophryines and sheds some light on problems that have long
existed in their systematics, for instance, the taxonomic position of the South
American Euophrys species. The subfamily's divergence time is estimated by a
Bayesian approach using fossil calibration. The result shows the Euophryinae
likely originated in late Eocene or early Oligocene after the continents had
moved into their current positions. This finding is consistent with other analyses
that suggest much of salticid diversification occurred after the separation of the
continents of the Old World and New World, and indicates dispersal in
evolutionary history is the major mechanism to result in the current
intercontinental distribution pattern of this subfamily. This study also finds two
hotspots of euophryine species: Papua New Guinea and the Caribbean Islands.
Most jumping spiders known from these two areas are euophryines.
486
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Division of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, Ekaterinburg city, Russia, zmp@ipae.uran.ru, kia@ipae.uran.ru
Introduction
An ecosystem transformation under industrial pollution is one of classic
issues in contemporary ecology. At the same time much attention is focused on
functional or taxonomic/population changes in communities. The physiological
reactions are important basic components in population adaptation. The
preference reactions may be used as the indicator of ecological features of
species or populations. The long-term emissions of a copper-smelting factory
changes plant cover and temperature conditions and should affect thermo-
preference reactions of epigeic invertebrates. Harvestmen have a short range of
individual activity (approximately 200 m), cannot move over long distances by
air like insects or spiders so they are convenient research subject. Our goal in
this study is to test the assumption that harvestmen dwelling in close vicinity of
the copper-smelting factory have specific thermo-preference reactions.
Methods
The investigation was carried out in Pervouralsk district of Sverdlovsk
region (Middle Urals, Russia) near the Revda town during two summers (2007,
2008). The native biotopes in this region are fir forests with admixture of birch,
aspen and pine. Two sites located at the different distances from the
Sredneuralsk copper-smelting factory (SUMZ) were used: background zone (30
km) where pollution is at the average regional level and impact zone (2 km)
where the amplitude of daily temperature fluctuations in forest litter is higher
than on the unpolluted area. The most numerous three species of harvestmen has
been chosen for study: Nemastoma lugubre, Oligolophus tridens and Lacinius
ephippiatus. Harvestmen were caught by soil traps (2 days exposition). Live
individuals were delivered to a laboratory and placed inside experimental device
with temperature gradient from+8ºС to+30ºС. Six rounds of measurements
during day and night with 3 hours intervals were taken. The experiments have
been executed on August, 14th, 17th, 21st, 23rd, 29th and on September, 7th in 2007
(evaluation units (n) is individual): 25 L. ephippiatus, 89 N. lugubre and 5 О.
tridens from the background population and 5 О. tridens from the impact
population. Eleven rounds have been executed in 2008: on July, 14th, 17th, 22nd,
25th, 28th, on August, 10th, 13th, 17th, 21st, 26th and on September, 3rd (47 L.
ephippiatus, 70 N. lugubre and 57 О. tridens from the background and 5 О.
tridens from the impact population). For the temperature registration in litter top
horizon (depth 1 cm) during the period of laboratory research in 2007 we
installed the wireless sensors THERMOCHRON DS 1921 GF50. The statistical
487
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Results
Litter temperature
The temperature in forest litter where harvestmen spend many time at
their early stages has considerable influence on their activity. The similar
average temperature of the litter top horizon (registration unit (n) is sensor) in
the background zone (16.0±0.3ºC, sd=1.4, n=6) and in the impact zone
(16.2±0.5ºC, sd=2.4, n=4) was observed (F(1; 648)=0.2) but the variability of
daily (time*zone F(23; 648)=6.3) and seasonal (season*zone: F(4; 648)=20.8)
temperatures is higher in the impact zone.
Preference reactions
The daily average air temperature during the capture set in 2007 was less
by 1.3ºC than that in 2008 (F(1; 2422)=59.4). It is remarkable that in 2007 the
preference values of О. tridens (hereinafter М±se: 16.8±0.9) and N. lugubre
(17.8±0.3ºС) were a little lower (18.1±0.4, 18.2±0.2ºC in 2008 accordingly). On
the contrary L. ephippiatus in 2007 chose higher temperatures (20.1±0.5ºC) than
in 2008 (18.7±0.4ºC). The thermo-preference of all three species varied slightly
among two years (F(1;2309)=2.66). Significant interspecies differences in
thermo-preference were observed (F(2;2310)=16.1). L. ephippiatus is more
thermophilic species (19.2±0.3ºC). О. tridens and N. lugubre showed similar
reactions (18.0±0.4ºC and 18.0±0.2ºC accordingly). Contrary to expectations
thermo-preference of O. tridens inhabiting impact and background zone was
similar (18.4±0.7ºC, F(1; 532)=0.0002). The influence of average daily air
temperature on harvestmen thermo-preference is revealed (F(1; 2310)=8.58),
with decrease air temperature it decrease too.
Circadian dynamics in harvestmen preference temperature
All three species show similar circadian dynamics of preferred
temperatures (time: F(7; 2310)=4.9): the harvestmen chose high values at night
but low values at day, such feature is peculiar to crepuscular and nocturnal
invertebrates. There is only one coherent peak in all three species preference
temperature dynamics within 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. L. ephippiatus chose minimum
temperatures within the period since 12 a.m. till 3 p.m., background population
of N. lugubre and О. tridens – since 3 p.m. till 6 p.m. О. tridens inhabiting
impact territory displayed maximum width daily range thermo-preference
(5.1ºC). The thermo-preference circadian dynamics in both populations of О.
tridens are similar (zone: F(1; 532)=0.0002; time zone: F(7; 532)=1.28).
Harvestmen’s norm of reaction to temperature
Thermal preference reactions allow characterized organism as eury- or
stenothermic and we used a standard deviation as evaluation for it. N. lugubre
has a lowest standard deviation (2.0ºC), impact population of О. tridens (2.3ºC)
488
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the program “Biological diversity”. We are
grateful to A.B. Kohan for his help in experiment execution and to K.V.
Maklakov for manuscript translation improvement.
489
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Introduction
Most studies on animal displacements focus on horizontal movements,
which are equally easy and possible in all directions. In contrast, many web-
building spiders also move up- and downwards, because their webs have a
vertical expansion. Vertical displacement is not equally easy in both directions,
especially for larger organisms, because gravity causes climbing upwards to be
more exerting than walking downwards.
Vertical orb-webs usually have a form that deviates from a perfectly round
structure. Because this deviation is usually directed downwards – i.e. the part
below the hub is larger – it can be safely assumed that this asymmetry is
somehow linked to gravity. Similarly, almost all orb-webs are elongated, i.e.
they are higher than wide, and in almost all orb webs, spiders face downwards
when waiting for prey on the hub. In my presentation, I review the possible
reasons for the vertical asymmetry and elongation of orb-webs, and I review the
explanations why spiders face downwards. In addition, I propose two
hypotheses, how the influences of gravity may have been a driving force behind
the evolutionary transition from orb-webs to the derived three-dimensional webs
of theridiid and linyphiid spiders.
490
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
491
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
spatial webs have been derived from orb-webs. However, the transition of the
web structure during the evolution from orb web to spatial webs is unknown and
no hypothesis has been suggested how this transition may have occurred.
Most linyphiid and some theridiid spiders build horizontal sheet-webs
with knock-down threads above. While the sheet webs built by both groups are
very similar, they differ in the resting position of the spider. Linyphiid spiders
spend their time on the underside of their sheet, whereas theridiid spiders live in
a retreat above the sheet. Since spiders of both groups overwhelm their prey
from beneath, through the sheet, the resting place in theridiid sheet-webs
requires the spider to rush down and through the sheet when prey has been
caught.
I propose the hypothesis that linyphiid sheet webs were derived from
horizontal orb-webs, with additional knock down threads above. In a second
step, the strength of the horizontal web was increased, which made regular
rebuilding of the entire orb uneconomical, which in turn lead to a loss of the
regularity of the orb.
I further propose the hypothesis that the theridiid sheet-webs have evolved
from vertical orb-webs in which the area at the bottom of the web with high
sticky silk density became increasingly pronounced to catch all prey tumbling
down along the web. In a second step, the lower part of the web then became
wider and the upper part of the web lost its sticky silk and started to function as a
mere knockdown trap. In a third step, the dense web at the bottom also lost its
sticky silk.
References
ap Rhisiart A. & Vollrath F. 1994. Design features of the orb web of the spider,
Araneus diadematus. Behavioural Ecology, 5: 280-287.
Blackledge T.A., Scharff N., Coddington J.A., Szuts T., Wenzel J.W., Hayashi C.Y.
& Agnarsson I. 2009. Reconstructing web evolution and spider diversification
in the molecular era. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA,
106: 5229-5234.
Coslovsky M. & Zschokke S. 2009. Asymmetry in orb-webs: an adaptation to web
building costs? Journal of Insect Behaviour, 22: 29-38.
Eberhard W.G. 1975. The 'inverted ladder' orb web of Scoloderus sp. and the
intermediate orb of Eustala (?) sp. Araneae: Araneidae. Journal of Natural
History, 9: 93-106.
Herberstein M.E. & Heiling A.M. 1999. Asymmetry in spider orb webs: a result of
physical constraints? Animal Behaviour, 58: 1241-1246.
Kuntner M., Haddad C.R., Aljancic G. & Blejec A. 2008. Ecology and web
allometry of Clitaetra irenae, an arboricolous African orb-weaving spider
(Araneae, Araneoidea. Nephilidae). Journal of Arachnology, 36: 583-594.
Langer R.M. 1969. Elementary physics and spider webs. American Zoologist, 9: 81-
89.
492
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
493
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Samuel Zschokke
Section of Conservation Biology, University of Basel, Switzerland,
samuel.zschokke@unibas.ch
Introduction
Most araneoid orb-web spiders build vertically asymmetric webs, in which
the capture area below the hub is larger than above the hub. Empirical and
theoretical studies suggest that this asymmetry is mainly an adaptation to the spider's
prey capture behaviour, and that it reflects the spider's ability to run downwards
faster than upwards.
The basic structure of an orb web consists of radial threads converging to a
central point, the hub. Around the hub, a sticky thread is placed in concentric spiral
loops, forming the capture area. Such a basic web structure implies a round capture
area with the hub in its geometric centre. However, as stated above, real orb webs
are vertically asymmetric, and there must therefore be modifications to this basic,
round web structure.
The modifications to the basic round web which spiders have been shown to
use to achieve vertically asymmetric webs are: 1) asymmetrically placed (eccentric)
sticky spiral loops and 2) additional sticky spiral threads below the hub. In addition,
spiders could build webs with a larger average mesh size below than above the hub.
The first aim of the present study is to describe these modifications in webs of
A. diadematus in detail and to assess their contributions to web asymmetry.
All orb-web spiders build their web in a specific order. After completing the
frame and the radii, they build the widely meshed, non-sticky auxiliary from the hub
outwards and then the sticky spiral from the periphery inwards. As most orb-web
spiders are virtually blind, the orientation during web building must follow non-
visual cues. These cues include gravity and the position of earlier laid threads in the
spider's reach. Consequently, when the orientation of the web relative to gravity is
altered, we can expect changes in web building. Similarly, we can expect changes in
web building, when previously laid threads are altered,
The second aim of the present study is to assess the influence of gravity on
the different web modifications and to describe the relationships among these
modifications during web building, i.e., how do these modifications influence each
other?
494
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
eccentricity, i.e. their vertical displacement compared to the hub, using the formula
(upper-lower)/(upper+lower), yielding auxiliary spiral eccentricity and sticky spiral
eccentricity. In addition, the number of sticky spiral loops, the average mesh size of
the sticky spiral and the distance from the hub to the outermost turn of the sticky
spiral were assessed at the top and the bottom of the web. For these parameters,
asymmetry was calculated as above, yielding sticky spiral ratio, mesh size
asymmetry and web asymmetry respectively.
Results
Control webs (i.e. those built entirely in a vertical orientation) had on average
a negative web asymmetry, implying that the hub was placed above the geometric
centre of the capture area (as it is the case in most orb webs). Similarly, all sticky
spiral modifications (sticky spiral eccentricity, sticky spiral ratio and mesh size
asymmetry) were on average negative in the control webs, indicating that they all
contributed to the observed web asymmetry.
Web asymmetry and all modifications except mesh size asymmetry were less
negative in webs laid horizontally during auxiliary spiral building, suggesting that
they were in some way influenced by the orientation of the web during auxiliary
spiral building.
The orientation of the web during sticky spiral building had a significant
influence only on mesh size asymmetry. Interestingly, however, the (non significant)
influence of the orientation during sticky spiral building was opposite to that of the
orientation during auxiliary spiral building; a vertical orientation during sticky spiral
building tended to reduce web asymmetry and its modifications. This means, that
the webs with the strongest asymmetry were those, which were in a vertical position
during auxiliary spiral building and in a horizontal position during sticky spiral
building, and not those in vertical orientation during the entire web building.
A causal model suggested that web orientation during auxiliary spiral
building influenced auxiliary spiral eccentricity, which in turn influenced sticky
spiral eccentricity and web asymmetry. Web asymmetry influenced sticky spiral
ratio and, together with sticky spiral ratio and web orientation during sticky spiral
building influenced mesh size asymmetry.
Conclusions
1. All three modifications (sticky spiral eccentricity, sticky spiral ratio and mesh size
asymmetry contribute to the overall web asymmetry in A. diadematus.
2. The eccentricity of the auxiliary spiral has a strong influence on the eccentricity of
the sticky spiral, which supports the theory that the auxiliary spiral is used as a
guiding line during building of the sticky spiral in A. diadematus.
3. The spider uses different rules to build the two spirals. During auxiliary spiral
building, gravity has a great influence, whereas during sticky spiral building the
spider mainly relies on previously laid threads.
495
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Marek Żabka
496
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Males are typically more elaborately ornamented than females; and they
are classically considered to be the competing, but not the choosing, sex,
because their investment in offspring is much lower. Females in some species
are highly ornamented, but adaptive significance of female ornamented is largely
unknown although recent studies suggest that selection acting on females might
be a widespread cause of female ornamentation. As a sexually selected trait,
female-specific ornamentation, like that of males, may be often condition
dependent, indicting female quality, on which males may make mate choice
decisions. Here, we investigate Cosmophasis umbratica, a jumping spider that
has sexual dimorphic UV-induced fluorescent ornamentation, in which females
have palps with UV-excited bright green fluorescence that is absent in males,
and provide evidence that female palp fluorescence is strongly age dependent in
this species. Mid-aged females are brighter and greener than younger and older
females. When given a choice between two similar-sized females with different
ages (i.e., young vs. mid-age and mid-age vs. old) which are correlated with palp
fluorescence, male spent more time courting mid-aged females with brighter and
greener fluorescent palps and less time courting young or old females that have
dull and yellow fluorescent palps. This provides strong experimental evidence
that C. umbratica males make use of the female’s age-dependent fluorescent
markings as a reliable signal in their choice of mate, supporting the hypothesis
that female ornamentation is sexually selected.
497
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
Index of Authors
498
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
499
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
500
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
501
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
502
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
503
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
504
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
505
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
506
Book of Abstracts, 18th International Congress of Arachnology 2010, Siedlce, Poland
507