Colonization of subterranean habitats by spiders in Central Europe

Authors

Vlastimil Růžička, Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, České BudějoviceFollow
Petr Šmilauer, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České BudějoviceFollow
Roman Mlejnek, Caves Administration of the Czech Republic, BlanskoFollow

Abstract

Using data from the Czech Republic, we studied the distribution of spiders in soils, crevice systems, scree and caves, i.e. subterranean habitats at depths spanning from 10 cm to 100 m. In total, we found 161 species. The number of species declines with increasing habitat depth, with a major drop in species richness at the depth of 10 meters. Thirteen species exhibit morphological adaptations to life in subterranean habitats. At depths greater than 10 meters, spider assemblages are almost exclusively composed of troglomorphic species. We propose a hypothesis of evolution of troglomorphisms during Quaternary climatic cycles.

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.42.2.5

Recommended Citation

Růžička, Vlastimil; Petr Šmilauer; and Roman Mlejnek. 2013. Colonization of subterranean habitats by spiders in Central Europe. International Journal of Speleology, 42: 133-140.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol42/iss2/5