Species composition and diversity of spider (Arachnida: Araneae) in the northern forests of Armenia

ABSTRACT

Spiders are an important component of terrestrial ecosystems, and researchers around the world are trying to capture metrics on spider biodiversity. In this study an exploratory survey and analysis of spider diversity was conducted in four provinces in Armenia (Tavush, Lori, Kotayk and Gegharkunik). A total of 98 species of spiders, belonging to 20 families and 67 genera, were discovered in this area. Among these, 13 species were identified as new to the Armenian fauna. Linyphiidae was the dominant family, represented by 27 species. A comparative study of species collected from northern forests revealed low degrees of endemism. This indicates that the Armenian forests are not isolated geographically from the South Caucasus in spite of their unique environmental conditions (being upland); thus, this ecosystem contributes a similar species composition in the area to that of the neighbouring fauna.

KEYWORDS:

• Abundance
• Araneae
• distribution
• new records
• richness

Acknowledgements

We thank the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia for financial support to study Araneae in Armenia.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, NZ and KD; methodology, LH; formal analysis, NZ; investigation, AK and LH; writing – review and editing, NZ; visualization, LH and KD.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The voucher material is deposited in the invertebrate collection of NAS RA Scientific Centre of Zoology and Hydro-ecology Institute.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia [21T-1F004].

Notes on contributors

Noushig Zarikian

Noushig Zarikian is a senior researcher in the Experimental Zoology Laboratory of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology NAS Republic of Armenia. She has published widely about the Aranea Fauna of Armenia in addition to the Lepidopteras’ fauna of Armenia and Syrian Arab Republic.

Kim Dilbaryan

Kim Dilbaryan ia the head of the Experimental Zoology Laboratory of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology NAS Republic of Armenia. He studied the Aranei fauna of Armenia and his research interests include ticks and other agro-pests. He has published many books and articles.

Anushik Khachatryan

Anushik Khachatryan is junior researcher in the Experimental Zoology Laboratory of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology NAS Republic of Armenia. She is studying various invertebrate groups of Armenia.

Laura Harutyunova

Laura Harutyunova is a senior researcher in the Parasitology Laboratory of the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology NAS Republic of Armenia. She has had many publications on Mollusca fauna of Armenia, their ecology and their role as indicators to pollution with heavy metals.