The dataset contains records of spiders collected in the northeast of Luhansk Oblast in the periods 1982-1989, 2009-2011 and 2021. It aimed at the inventory of spider fauna of the Striltsivskyi ...Steppe Nature Reserve and species distribution in the main grassland and forest habitats of the region. The research was also concerned with the impact of conservation management ‒ hay mowing or strict protection and man-induced steppe fire on spider communities.
The dataset includes records from seven geographical localities in the northeast of Luhansk Oblast with 1,955 occurrences of 6662 individuals. For the first time, it provides detailed information about spider species composition, phenology and habitat distiribution within the study area, including two conservation areas and the primary material on the studies on the impact of hay making and steppe fire on spider communities. All the records of 246 spider species with georeferencing were published in GBIF.
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.
Dry grassland areas of Ukraine are highly fragmented due to human activity. All of them require protection and thorough study of their biota. Arachnological research in the Yelanetskyi Steppe Natural ...Reserve has been conducted for the first time. An annotated list of spiders includes 113 species in 23 families. Salticidae (20 species, 17.7% of the species list) and Gnaphosidae (18 species, 15.9%) are the most species rich. The studied reserve is the westernmost locality of Ero koreana Paik, 1967 and Zelotes eugeneiKovblyuk, 2009. Richest were the ecotone habitats on the edges of forest plantations and shrub thickets (43–45 species), while the poorest were the most disturbed open grassland habitats like grazed steppe, secondary steppe and meadows (25–26 species). Spider assemblages of the undisturbed forb-fescue-feather grass and petrophytic steppe habitats accounted for 33–37 species. A comparison of the dry grassland spider faunas of 11 protected areas in the steppe and forest-steppe zones of Ukraine showed that the araneofauna of the Yelanetskyi Steppe is most similar to those of both forb-fescue-feather grass steppes of Southeast Ukraine and fescue-feather grass steppes of South Ukraine. Moreover, the spider fauna of the Yelanetskyi Steppe contains the least specific elements. 33% of the species are widespread and only 3.8% are recorded from one or only two close sites. Similarity of the spider faunas depends on the geographical location of the study area and on the types of the grasslands.
Energy cropping has positive effect only if considering and mitigating potential biodiversity loss in agroecosystems. While investigating ground-dwelling animal assemblages in experimental fields of ...miscanthus and switchgrass in comparison with a legume-grass mixture and an abandoned field, we found low abundance and taxon diversity of the energy crops assemblages. Spiders comprised 3.3‒3.8% of collected arthropods in the switchgrass and miscanthus and 8.3‒10.1% in the abandoned field and grass mixture. Forty-seven spider species were collected: 14 species in the miscanthus field, 18 in the switchgrass, 23 in the grass mixture and 31 in the abandoned field. Spider diversity was the lowest in the miscanthus, while the number of specimens was minimal in the switchgrass. According to our findings, energy crops hosted poor spider assemblages with no species found exclusively in these habitats. To mitigate the negative impact of biofuel production on biodiversity, we recommend preserving areas of semi-natural vegetation in the agricultural landscape.
The steppe marmot inhabits a wide range of open dry grasslands in Eurasia. Throughout this vast area, marmot habitats have undergone major changes due to human activities. Long-term ecological ...monitoring was conducted in the European steppe marmot settlements (Marmota bobak bobak) in Northeastern Ukraine in 2001–2019. The data obtained were compared with the observations made in M. b. schaganensis settlements in Kazakhstan during the expedition in 2017. The goals of our investigation were (1) to estimate M. bobak ecological plasticity based on general vegetation parameters of its habitats and settlement structure, (2) to relate the population density of the European subspecies to the food base of its habitats, (3) to evaluate the population response of M. b. bobak to the abandonment of cattle grazing, (4) to ascertain new ecological adaptations (if any) to the habitat changes, and (5) to reveal the steppe marmot’s status in the plant–herbivore interaction system in the grasslands of Northeastern Ukraine and Northern Kazakhstan. We have found differences in ecological features of M. b. bobak and M. b. schaganensis. The European subspecies was and continues to be a secondary pasture user. The Kazakhstan subspecies can be both secondary and primary users of the Asian dry steppes. Our studies have shown that the habitats of the European steppe marmot worsened dramatically (due to increased herbage height and cover of uneaten plant species together with litter) in comparison with those of the Kazakhstan subspecies. Presence in diverse habitats with a range of vegetation parameters as well as the differences between the settlement structures of M. b. bobak and M. b. schaganensis demonstrate the high ecological plasticity of the steppe marmot at the species level. At the same time, we have not found any new ecological adaptations that would ensure the survival of M. b. bobak settlements in modern conditions of the total cessation of cattle grazing.
Recently, anthropogenic fires in protected areas have become more frequent. I studied the response of the spider community after an extensive summer fire in the ‘Striltsivskyi Steppe’ Reserve in ...eastern Ukraine. A total of 117 spider species was found in the pre-fire period, 40 species were registered in the first and 89 species in the third post-fire year. Herb-dwelling spiders began to colonize burnt plots in July, when juveniles of the new generation began dispersing. In September, their abundance was similar to that of undisturbed steppe and within three years, the spider assemblages recovered almost completely. Cursorial ground-dwellers in the first post-fire year decreased in species richness and increased in activity density. In the third year, their species diversity and activity density became much higher than in control plots. Some xerophilous species benefited from the fire. Litter dwellers are extremely vulnerable. During the three post-fire years, their numbers and diversity did not recover. Some rare species with a patchy geographical distribution disappeared from the local fauna. Such a reaction of endangered species is the main restriction on the use of fire as a conservation management. The prerequisite for its implementation is maintaining relevant refuges for threatened species.
Antropogeni požari na zavarovanih območjih so v zadnjem času vse bolj pogosti. Proučevala sem odziv združbe pajkov po ekstenzivnem poletnem požaru v rezervatu ‘Striltsivskyi Steppe’ v vzhodni Ukrajini. V obdobju pred požarom sem našla 117 vrst pajkov, 40 vrst je bilo zabeleženih v prvem letu, 89 vrst pa v tretjem letu po požaru. Pajki, ki prebivajo na zeliščih, so začeli naseljevati požgane ploskve julija, ko so se začeli razširjati juvenilni osebki nove generacije. Septembra je bila njihova abundanca podobna kot v nemoteni stepi in po treh letih se je vrstna sestava pajkov popolnoma obnovila. Vrstna pestrost pajkov, ki prebivajo na tleh, se je v prvem letu po požaru zmanjšala, povečala pa se je njihova aktivna gostota. V tretjem letu sta bili vrstna pestrost in aktivna gostota višji kot na kontrolnih ploskvah. Nekatere kserofilne vrste so imele zaradi požara prednost. Vrste, ki jih najdemo v opadu, so izredno ranljive. Njihovo število in pestrost se v treh letih po požaru nista obnovila. Nekatere redke vrste z zaplatasto geografsko razširjenostjo, so izginile s tega območja. Odziv redkih vrst je glavna omejitev za uporabo ognja za naravovarstven način gospodarjenja. Predpogoj za njegovo uporabo je vzpostavitev ustreznih zatočišč (refugijev) za ogrožene vrste.
The current checklist of spiders from Left-Bank Ukraine includes 741 species in 270 genera and 34 families. The families Linyphiidae (215 species, 29% of the fauna), Gnaphosidae (83 species, 11%) and ...Salticidae (79 species, 11%) are the most species-rich. The Linyphiidae species diversity declines from north to south – from 33% of the fauna in the forest zone to 16% of the fauna in the bunchgrass steppe subzone. In contrast, the proportion of Gnaphosidae increases from 7% to 13%, respectively. A total of 407 spider species was recorded from the forest natural zone, 515 species from the forest-steppe, 583 species from the forb-bunchgrass steppe subzone of the steppe zone and 375 species from the bunchgrass steppe subzone. In terms of administrative division, the araneofauna of the Donetsk Region is the richest with 514 species, the faunas of the Kharkiv (426 species), Luhansk (402 species) and Chernihov (391 species) regions follow it. The poorest is the Zaporizhzhia Region with 122 species. In total, spiders have been collected at 269 localities and the results have been published in 369 papers. Faunistic and ecological studies are the main directions of arachnological research in Left-Bank Ukraine.
•Impact of grazing on steppe arthropods depends on the site topography.•Grazing cessation in gully bottoms results in predominance of meadow species.•Ungrazed gully slopes harbor the most steppe-like ...arthropod assemblages.•Response of cursorial spiders and true bugs on cattle grazing is different.•Cursorial spiders are better indicators of grazing pressure than true bugs.
Cattle grazing is a traditional agricultural activity and one of the obligatory factors for maintaining steppe ecosystems. The impact of grazing depends on its intensity, site area, soil, topography, and microclimatic conditions. Both intensive grazing and long-term cessation differently affect various components of the steppe biota. During the research, cursorial spiders and true bugs were collected in grazed and ungrazed gullies in northeastern Ukraine. Seventy true bug and 73 spider species were recovered from the ungrazed gully and 65 true bug and 50 spider species from the grazed one. More than a 20-year grazing cessation resulted in the partial overgrowth of the gully bottom by arboreal and shrub vegetation and the predominance of meadow herb species. Consequently, spider assemblages being the richest in species number and individuals lost their steppe traits. Ungrazed south-facing slope covered with typical steppe vegetation harbored the most steppe-like spider assemblage and maintained abundance of steppe specialists. Spider assemblages of the grazed gully were the poorest. Species richness, number of individuals and ecological groups of true bugs depended on orographic conditions, being more divers on the gully slopes (58–60 species vs. 42–44 species in the bottoms). The true bug individual numbers were the highest on the grazed slope while in the bottoms it did not change with grazing. In general, cursorial spiders were better indicators of the grazing pressure than true bugs. At the study site, no specific pastoral assemblages of both arthropod groups were indentified. Nevertheless, patched grazing was necessary for maintaining steppe-like vegetation and arthropod assemblages in the gully bottoms.
Dry grassland ecosystems are highly fragmented in Ukraine and increasingly threatened from intensification of farming practices. Evaluation of the habitat conservation importance based on multitaxon ...studies allows for optimizing selection of priority sites. Botanical research of xerothermic habitats in the Kryvorizkyi Iron Ore Basin has been conducted since 2012, while spiders were investigated for the first time in 2017. In the four study sites, we recorded 265 vascular plant species (23 under protection) and 95 spider species (19 are rare). Both vegetation and spider communities of the site Zelena Gully are well preserved and rich in rare and threatened species (18 plant and 11 spider species), which confirms its value as a priority site of the Emerald Network. Chervona Gully and the Slate Rocks should be included in the network. Frequent fires and intensive grazing in Khrystoforova Gully affect the spider diversity, decreasing the number of specialist and rare species, while early flowering plants benefit from this disturbance. Nevertheless, its vegetation is poorer than in Zelena and Chervona gullies. Inclusion in the Emerald Network is critically important to the investigated sites, since expansion of mining activities is constantly threatening natural habitats in industrial regions.
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