Ecological structure of the West Siberian forest-steppe spider community (Arachnida, Araneae) and its comparison with the ground-beetle (Coleoptera, Carabidae) community

Abstract

An investigation of the spatiotemporal management of the ground-dwelling spider community has been carried out at the continuous habitat gradient from the forest outlier center to the meadowland center in the southern part of the forest-steppe zone of Novosibirsk oblast in 2007‒2008. We apply two sampling methods which complete each other: pitfall trapping and hand separation of soil samples. Eighty-three species of spiders from 14 families are determined. Spiders are most abundant in the early summer and less abundant in the middle of summer. Representatives of different families are of maximum abundance in different sites: Lycosidae and Gnaphosidae mainly in the forest and Philodromidae in the solonetz meadow. The distribution of diversity and abundance of spiders and ground beetles throughout the habitat gradient are generally similar. This is contradictory to the spatial interactions of these two groups in Arctic and extreme ecosystems. Niche distinguishing between ground beetles and spider species is not only topical. It includes the usage of different strata of vegetation, various seasonal activity, and trophic specialization.