Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2020 number 5

Studies of spider communities (Arachnida: Aranei) were carried out in Central Kazakhstan along 70°E in subzones of typical, dry and deserted steppe on the catenas (drainage series), including eluvial, transitive and accumulative positions. 79 species of spiders belonging to 33 genera and 11 families were identified. The basis of the spider population is formed by wandering gnaphosid spiders - a group typical for arid zones and dry stations. A significant role in the population of the study area is also played by wolf spiders (Lycosidae), the most numerous on the lower, wetter positions of the catenas. In the direction from typical steppes to desert ones, there is an increase in the proportion of Salticidae species in spider faunas and taxonomic diversity of this family. In contrast to the species richness of the ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae), which decreases from north to south, the number of spider species increases, and thus it is similar to the species richness of tenebrionid beetles. At the latitudinal gradient from north to south at the upper positions of the catenas there is a decrease in the spider abundance, while the ecological diversity of taxa of spiders is increasing. Usually, positions of catenas being similar in faunistic composition, are similar in the structure of spider population. When moving from typical steppes to desert, there is a decrease in the number of wide-area species with subboreal distribution and an increase in the number of species typical of steppe, semi-desert habitats and salt marshes.