Spider Diversity in Kavvayi River Basin, Kerala, Southern India

Abstract

Kavvayi river basin is a typical lateritic biotope situated in the Northern part of Kerala, which holds various ecological units such as lateritic vegetation, agro-ecosystems, seasonal pools, Grass lands, Kanams, Sacred groves, Mangrove marsh and riparian vegetation. Many of these microhabitats are unique in character and poorly documented. A preliminary study was conducted to document the diversity of spider fauna inhabiting in the different ecosystems of Kavvayi river basins. India is having 1,686 species of spiders belonging to 60 families and 438 genera, which constitutes 3.6% of world’s spider population. The present study resulted in the documentation of 112 species of spiders belonging to 81 genera and 21 families. Araneidae was the most dominant family which constitutes 21.5% of the total spider species collected. The second dominant family was Salticidae which constitutes 19.5% of total spider population. Guild structure analysis of the collected spiders revealed seven feeding guilds, namely stalkers, orb web builders, ambushers, foliage runners, space web builders, ground runners and wandering sheet weavers. The spider fauna of this ecosystem is qualitatively rich due to varied microhabitats, which supports high floral and faunal diversity. The present study suggests a detailed investigation at ecosystem level to understand the role of spiders in ecosystem function.