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VOL. 10, ISSUE 3 (2025)
Taxonomic and functional diversity, distribution, and conservation status of spiders in urban habitats of Jorhat district in Assam, India
Authors
Atrayee Borthakur, Prabal Sarkar, Anindita Bhattacharya
Abstract
A study was conducted on the distribution,
abundance, and diversity of spiders in urban habitats of Jorhat district in Assam,
India, between 2023 and 2024 using standard sampling techniques (aerial and
ground hand collection, beat sheet method, and household goods search). The
study recorded 82 spider species belonging to 19 families and 9 ecological
guilds. The highest species richness (42.7%) was recorded from Araneidae
family, followed by Salticidae (17.1%). In the case of abundance, Pholcidae was
found to be the most abundant family (42.8%), followed by Araneidae (30.9%),
Salticidae (7%) and Sparassidae (6%). The remaining 15 families exhibited
<5% species abundance. The Shannon-Weiner index
indicated high species diversity (3.26) in the study area, with the highest
diversity values in Araneidae (2.65) and Salticidae (2.39) families. Margalef’s
diversity value (10.7) also suggested a very high overall species richness.
However, a high Simpson's diversity value (0.92) and a low Pielou’s evenness value (0.43) indicated unequal distribution
of species, highlighting the dominance of certain species and dispersal of
others, further emphasizing their conservation importance. The peoples’ perception of these tiny under-researched creatures also
needs to be changed for the conservation of the same, failure of which will
lead to ecosystem imbalance at the micro level.
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Pages:156-163
How to cite this article:
Atrayee Borthakur, Prabal Sarkar, Anindita Bhattacharya "Taxonomic and functional diversity, distribution, and conservation status of spiders in urban habitats of Jorhat district in Assam, India". International Journal of Entomology Research, Vol 10, Issue 3, 2025, Pages 156-163
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