Diversity of spiders in coffee agro-ecosystem of Western Ghats in Karnataka, India | JBES 2020
Description
Spiders survey study was conducted in coffee agro-ecosystems of Muthodi and Chikholale and residential area of Chikmagaluru town for six months from January- June 2019.Altogether 105 individuals representing 12 families and 30 species were documented. Among them 8 families from Muthodi coffee agroecosystem, 6 families from Chikholale coffee agroecosystem, out of them 5 families were same. In Residential area 7 families were documented, out which 4 families are same as coffee agroecosystem and 3 families are different i.e., Agelenidae, Sparassidae and Hersilidae families. Spiders of 12 families were divided into eight functional groups (guilds) based on their foraging behavior in the field. The most dominant guild was the orb weavers (45%) comprised of 13 species representing 5 families, among them family Araneidae representing 11 species.
Files
Steps to reproduce
Materials and methods Study area The study was conducted in coffee agro-ecosystems of Muthodi and Chikholale and residential area of Chikmagalur town. Chikmagalur is located in the foothills of Mullayangiri range, the highest peak between Himalayas and the Nilgiris, in the shadow of the Western Ghats. Chikmagalur is famous for coffee production and hills stations there and is known as “Coffee Land” of Karnataka. It is a place in India where coffee was cultivated for the first time. The field observations and collection of spiders were made from January to June 2019. Discriptions of the habitats In this study area two type’s habitats were selected. The 1st habitat type is coffee agroecosystem, most of the mountainous areas with coffee plantations. 2nd habitat type is residential area. Muthodi Coffee agroecosystem Muthodi belonging to Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, having the lush green vegetation of mostly moist and dry deciduous forests, which is located at a distance of 44km from Chikmagalur. More than 120 tree species grow here, which include Teak, Rosewood, Mathi, Honne, Nandi, Tadasalu and Kindal. Besides being the perfect haven for tigers, the Bhadra sanctuary plays host to exotic animal species. The elephant, gaur, tiger, panther, sambar, spotted deer, mouse deer, barking deer, sloth bear, wild boar, wild dog, mongoose, porcupine, jackal, and the common langur are some of the mammals found here. Among birds the black winged kite, king vulture, great horned owl, great pied hornbill, Indian tree pie, black napped flycatcher and the open billed stork were common. The temperature of the region being 22-320C, the area where the survey was conducted consists of both Arabica and Robusta coffee plantations, with the addition of some of the economically important plants. Chikholale coffee agroecosystem Chikholale is a sub village in Hirekolale Village in Chikmagalurtaluk in Chikmagalur District. It is located 9 KM towards west of Chikmagalur. The most of the flora of this area are silver, Arabica coffee, jack fruit trees and some economically important plants and trees. Residential Area of Chikmagalur Chikmagalur is located between 12054’42”and 13053’53” North latitude and between 75004’46” and 76021’50” East latitude. Its greatest length from east to west is 138.4km and from north to south is 88.5km. It is located at an elevation of 3,400 feet. The temperature of city ranges between 11-200C during winter and 25-340C during summer. The city receives an average rainfall of 1925mm/year. Chikmagalur district is surrounded by Chandra Drona hill range and dense forest, about 30% of the district area is covered by forest.