Assemblages of ground living spiders (Araneae) in peatland habitats, surrounding dry pine forest and meadows

Abstract

This research was conducted to study assemblages of ground living spider of a peatland and their surrounding habitats (margin of dry pine forest and meadows) in the Šuja peat bog (in northern part of Slovakia) in 2013. The aim of study was to classify assemblages of ground living spider into different habitat types, compare their composition and analyse the relation of species occurrence at study sites. Spiders were sampled between April and October 2013 at 8 study sites using pitfall traps. 1,974 individuals belonging to 100 species and to 21 families were captured in total. Diversity, equitability, species composition, preference for humidity, inclusion in the group of their ecological valence and habitat association were used to characterize ground living spider communities at each study site. In order to evaluate the relationship among the communities of the spiders at the sampling sites we used principal component analysis. Based on their ecological characteristics, spiders formed five groups of species associated with semi dry to mesophilous open meadow habitats, semi dry woodland habitats, mesophilous unshaded habitats, mesophilous partly shaded habitats without herbal vegetation cover and hygrophilous habitats.