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Semi-natural forests and dry grasslands are highly fragmented and influenced by human activity. Despite the small area, they serve as the refuge for habitat-specific species and enhance agrolandscape biodiversity. We studied spiders in Velykoburlutskyi Steppe Regional Landscape Park (northeastern Ukraine) for 10 years and found 224 species of 26 families; of these, 27 are rare and require protection. The araneofauna of small forests in gullies is poorer than that of the large oakeries and hosts fewer sylvatic species; the dry grassland fauna is rich, has typical steppe traits, and varies depending on topography and grazing history. The ungrazed gully hosted 125 spider species. The richest assemblages (97 species) were at the bottom, and they were similar to those of meadows and forest edges. The most typical steppe assemblages were formed on the ungrazed slope (77 species). The human-induced disturbance had a negative effect on spiders: we found only 63 species at the grazed bottom and 62 on the slope. After abrupt grazing cessation, four spider species appeared and occurred constantly at the bottom, while no species left this habitat. Grazing on the slopes declined gradually, and spider assemblages did not change significantly after the final cessation; moreover, they enriched on the abandoned slope (75 species). The presence of rare species and a variety of spider assemblages confirm the conservation value of the study site and the need to maintain its mosaic pattern.

Here we present faunistic, partly ecological and biogeographic data on Aranei, collected in 11districts of the Republic of Mordovia (Russia), typical area of the center of the East European Plain. The araneofauna of this region is poorly studied and our new data help to correct biogeorgaphic limits of many species. Spiders were collected by soil traps in April–July 2008 and 2012. In total, 131species from 18families are listed, 57of them are recorded for the Republic of Mordovia for the first time (marked by asterisks in the check-list). The following records are the most interesting for biogeography and bionomics in different parts of ranges: Agyneta fuscipalpa (C.L.Koch, 1836) (rare, but widespread species, which is known from semiarid and semihumid areas of the Palaearctic); Alopecosa taeniopus (Kulczyński, 1895) (the range of this species is limited by steppe zone of the Palaearctic from the Balkans to West China; it inhabits many biotopes from salt marshes to outlier and ravine forests in the forest-steppe and in the steppe zones of the East European Plain); Cheiracanthium campestre Lohmander, 1944 (a rare European species, which was registered within the East European Plain only in Rostov Region), Pardosa alacris (C.L.Koch, 1833) (widespread in Europe, confined to the subboreal zone of the East European Plain), Pardosa maisa Hippa et Mannila, 1982 (habitats of the Mordovian populations of this species are unusual; it occurs in Europe in waterlogged habitats: swamps, floodplain wet meadows, salt marshes, reed shores of lakes, very rarely and sporadically in moderately dry meadows or grasslands; this species is also confined to the shores of lakes in Western Siberia; specimens collected in Mordovia and in the Privolzhsky Forest-Steppe Reserve in Penza Region were found in dry grassy habitats), Peponocranium praeceps Miller, 1943 (arare European species, occurring in forests, meadows and swamps in Europe, but exclusively in xerophytic meadows in steppes of the Cis-Ural region), Trichoncus hackmani Millidge, 1955. In total 228species of spiders are known now in Mordovia. The basis of the araneofauna of Mordovia consists of spiders typical for the subboreal zone of the European part of Russi

El estudio de la araneofauna en las Yungas argentinas es escaso. Sin embargo, es relevante debido a la alta diversidad ambiental y biológica que posee esta ecorregión, principalmente en los sistemas forestales amenazados por el avance de la frontera agropecuaria. El objetivo de este trabajo es comparar la diversidad y la composición de los ensambles de arañas epigeas en la Selva Pedemontana (SP), Selva Montana (SM) y Bosque Montano (BM) de las Yungas de la provincia de Salta. Se tomaron muestras mediante trampas de caída durante el otoño, la primavera 2006 y el verano 2007 en tres sitios de la SP, cinco en la SM, y tres en el BM. Se recolectaron 643 arañas pertenecientes a 75 especies/morfoespecies. Los ensambles de SP reportaron la mayor riqueza de especies sumado a una composición de especies muy disímil en relación con las de SM y BM. Las tejedoras espaciales, otras cazadoras y cazadoras de suelo representaron más del 95 % de la abundancia en cada comunidad. Ellas mostraron patrones semejantes de abundancia en la SM y BM, mientras que en la SP las tejedoras espaciales redujeron marcadamente su abundancia. El cambio en la configuración del paisaje debido al uso del suelo es la principal fuerza que estaría estructurando los ensambles locales de la SP. Este estudio constituye el primero en analizar la diversidad de arañas epigeas y sus gremios en las Yungas del norte argentino siendo un punto de partida para futuros monitoreos de biodiversidad en la región. The study of the arachnofauna in the argentinean Yungas is scarce. However, it is relevant due to the high environmental and biological diversity, mainly in the forest systems threatened by the advance of the agricultural frontier. The aim of this work is to compare the diversity and composition of epigeal spider assemblages in the Piedmont Forest (SP), Mountain Jungle (SM) and Mountain Forest (BM) of the Yungas in the province of Salta. Three sites of the SP and BM, and five of the SM were considered. Sampling was carried out during autumn, spring (2006) and summer (2007) with pitfall traps. A total of 643 spiders of 75 species/morphospecies were collected. The SP sites showed the highest species richness and species composition very dissimilar compared to the SM and BM. The space web weavers, other hunters and ground hunters accounted for more than 95 % of the abundance in each community considered. They showed similar patterns of abundance in SM and BM, while in SP the space web weavers markedly reduced their abundance. The change in the landscape configuration due to the land use is the main forces that would be structuring the local assemblages of the SP. This study is the first to analyze the epigeal spiders diversity and their guilds in the Yungas of the argentine north, being a starting point for future monitoring of biodiversity in the region. Fil: Torres, Victor Manuel. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Gonzalez Reyes, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina Fil: Corronca, Jose Antonio. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto para el Estudio de la Biodiversidad de Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta; Argentina

Sustainable agro-ecological design is challenging when the goal is self-regulation of the system. The objective of this study was to evaluate if the agropastoral design system affects the spider community, as spiders are the main predators in these production systems, and to determine those designs which maximize the diversity and density of spiders. The study was conducted during 2009/2010, at the Experimental Research Station of Agriculture (EEA-INTA) Reconquista (Santa Fe, Argentina) where we considered four different designs: C1 (five agricultural fields), C2 (three agricultural fields and fourlivestock fields), C3 (six agricultural fields and one livestock field) and C4 (five agricultural fields and one forest area). In each design, the spiders were collected by pitfall traps and suction samples with a G-Vac (garden-vacuum). The designs proposed were considered on the basis of environmental heterogeneity. The C4 treatment had the greatest number of species, followed by C2, C3 and C1 (183, 178, 144 and 14 species, respectively), and C2 presented the greatest abundance of spiders followed by C4, C3 and C1 (n=5708, 4785, 4271 and 3448, respectively). Eight guilds were present in C3 and C4. This study is the first to evaluate the diversity of spiders in agropastoral systems in Argentina. Our results show that designs that include more fields with livestock orequal to those for agriculture, as well as forest areas, increase environmental heterogeneity. Therefore, the presence of a biological controller and dominant predatory group will be possible with sustainable designs that have environmental heterogeneity, contributing to improved pest control in agricultural systems., Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores

Forests with Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze trees are endangered in Brazil, and information on the diversity of soil spider families associated to these environments is practically inexistent. The present study was set up to evaluate the abundance and diversity of soil spider families in natural and reforested Araucaria forests, impacted or not by fire, and to identify the most efficient method to collect these organisms. The study was conducted in four areas: native forest with predominance of Araucaria (NF); Araucaria reforestation (R); Araucaria reforestation submitted to an accidental fire (RF); and native grass pasture with native Araucaria and submitted to an intense accidental fire (NPF). Considering both sampling methods (Monolith and Pitfall traps), 20 spider families were identified. The pitfall trap method was more effective as it captured 19 out of the 20 recorded families, while the Monolith method extracted only ten spider families. Spider family abundance and Shannon's diversity index (H) were affected by the employed collection method; the values for these attributes were always higher for the NF and lower for the NPF. Correspondence analysis (CA) showed a spatial separation among spider familiy assemblages from the different studied areas. It is suggested that changes in the abundance of soil spider families in Araucaria forests are mainly caused by recurrent human intervention over the last few years. As florestas com Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Kuntze estão ameaçadas de extinção no Brasil, e são praticamente inexistentes as informações sobre a diversidade de famílias de aranhas de solo associadas nestes ambientes. O estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar, em florestas com araucária naturais e reflorestadas, impactadas ou não pela queima acidental, a abundância e diversidade de famílias de aranhas, além de identificar o método mais eficiente para coletar estes organismos. O estudo foi conduzido em quatro áreas: floresta nativa com predominância de araucária (NF); reflorestamento de araucária (R); reflorestamento de araucária submetido a incêndio acidental (RF); e pastagem natural com araucárias nativas e ocorrência de incêndio acidental (NPF). Considerando os dois métodos de amostragem (Monólito e armadilhas de solo), foram identificadas 20 famílias de aranhas associadas às áreas. O método das armadilhas de solo foi mais eficiente, capturando 19 das 20 famílias registradas, enquanto o do Monólito extraiu apenas dez destas famílias de aranhas. A abundância de famílias de aranhas e o índice de diversidade de Shannon (H) foram afetados pelo método de coleta utilizado, sendo os valores destes atributos sempre superiores na NF e inferiores na NPF. A análise de correspondência (AC) demonstrou que existe separação espacial entre as áreas estudadas. Sugere-se que as modificações na abundância de famílias de aranhas de solo sejam provocadas principalmente pelas intervenções antrópicas que as florestas de araucária vêm sofrendo nos últimos anos.