Seasonal Diversity of Spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) and Collection Methods in Barpeta District, Assam, India

Abstract

Barpeta district, Assam, India covers an area of 2754 square kilometers. The Spider specimens were collected by visual search method and the collection methods adopted were Aerial hand collection, Ground hand collection and Beat sheet method. 70 spider species from the different habitats of Barpeta District were documented. The study shows the difference in quantity and quality of spider fauna concerning the seasons and collection method. The spider species were more active in the post-monsoon season and some were inactive during winter. Almost 75% of spider species were collected by the beat sheet method which shows that it is more significant than all other trapping techniques. The spider species richness and spider abundance were significantly affected by seasons, studied by Simpson’s diversity index and Shannon – Weiner’s diversity index. However, further study needs to be carried out for the effective conservation of these species.