A scanned version of the paper I presented at the National Workshop on Diversity & Taxonomy of Spiders with special reference to Molecular Systematics (Akola. Maharashtra. 2014). Original softcopy is unavailable.
Abstract: Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) are one of the ubiquitous and generalist predators that occupy virtually every niche in a terrestrial ecosystem. The diversity of spiders of Kanha Tiger Reserve was studied at the family-level during summer months to understand their ecosystem preferences in the reserve. A total of 20 families were recorded during the study. Four ecosystems, namely Sal dominant forests (SD), mix deciduous forests (MD), bamboo dominant forests (BD), and grasslands (GL) were selected as distinct ecosystems inhabited by spiders. The study revealed that the family-level diversity and density was higher in SD, followed by MD, BD, and GL. Among the spider families, we observed higher relative abundance of Oxyopidae in SD and GL, Salticidae in MD and Lycosidae in BD. This paper looks at spider families as an individual unit, their ecosystem preferences in the purview of the larger diversity of Kanha Tiger Reserve, and at the first records of spider families, viz. Deinopidae, Ctenidae, and Coriniidae from Madhya Pradesh.
