Seasonal variation in the diversity and species richness of spiders in the Indian Thar desert.

Abstract The Thar desert constitutes a unique ecosystem in India which supports distinct fauna adapted to it. But there is only limited information about the diversity of spiders in this area. A survey on spider fauna of the Thar desert of Rajasthan was conducted using collection methods like ground collection, aerial sampling, beating and litter sampling. Alpha diversity parameters such as indices, richness and abundance was also measured. Effect of seasons on spider population was also evaluated. This study revealed the presence of 127 species of spiders belonging to 61 genera and 17 families from the Thar desert. Maximum Shannon index was during summer and Simpson index during monsoon. Highest species richness was noticed during monsoon while abundance was higher during winter. This study reveals that the Thar desert ecosystem supports a variety of habitats facing species loss due to anthropogenic disturbances and the information on indicator species like spiders can be used for conservation planning for the native fauna.