Biodiversity Data Journal : Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Data Paper (Biosciences)
Spiders (Araneae) of the northeast of the Luhansk Oblast (Ukraine)
expand article infoNina Polchaninova‡, Oleksii Marushchak§
‡ V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine
§ I. I. Schmalhauzen Institute of Zoology, NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
Corresponding author: Oleksii Marushchak (ecopelobates@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Dmitry Schigel
Received: 26 Dec 2022 | Accepted: 30 Jan 2023 | Published: 03 Feb 2023
© 2023 Nina Polchaninova, Oleksii Marushchak
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Polchaninova N, Marushchak O (2023) Spiders (Araneae) of the northeast of the Luhansk Oblast (Ukraine). Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e99304. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e99304
 Open Access

Abstract

Background

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.

New information

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.

Keywords

Arachnida, conservation management, diversity, protected areas, arachnofauna, steppe region

Introduction

The lands of the Starobilsk Raion of the Luhansk Region, like the whole steppe zone of Ukraine, are highly transformed by human economic activity. The ploughing campaign was launched there in the 1930s and resulted in nearly all natural steppes being converted into agricultural fields. Now zonal forb-fescue-feather grass steppes on the flat interfluves are extant only in the Striltsivskyi Steppe Nature Reserve. Nevertheless, due to the rolling relief and the horse breeding developed in the late 17th – early 20th century, the Starobilsk Steppes are less ploughed than the southern Ukrainian steppes (Borovyk 2018). Remains of the virgin steppes, intensively grazed up to the 1990s, have been preserved on the gully slopes and bottoms. Natural arboreal and shrub vegetation forms narrow strips along the river banks and small patchy forests and shrub thickets in the gullies.

The vegetation of the Starobilsk steppes was investigated first in 1926‒1927 (Lavrenko and Dokhman 1933). Subsequently, it has been constantly monitored since the establishment of the Striltsivskyi Steppe protected area, now a department of the Luhansk Nature Reserve (Tkachenko 2009). In contrast, invertebrates were studied at irregular intervals, only some groups of beetles (Glotov 2021) and mites (Yaroshenko and Schtirts 2008) having been sampled thoroughly and analysed. Since various groups of organisms respond differently to the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors, comprehensive multitaxon studies are of critical importance for understanding changes in local biota, assessment of conservation effects (Margules and Pressey 2000, Braby and Williams 2016) and development of optimal management plans of protected areas and ecologically friendly farming (Batáry et al. 2012).

Being abundant and diverse predators, spiders play an imp­ortant role in trophic webs (Wise 1993, Mallis and Hurd 2005). They have various ecological traits and inhabit all vegetation layers in nearly all terrestrial habitats. Spiders’ diversity and ecological role make them a suitable model group for bioindication (Marc et al. 1999, Zografou et al. 2017, Cabrero-Sañudo et al. 2022).

Arachnological research in the northeast of the Luhansk Oblast was launched by the first author (NP) in the 1980s. Before that, only one locality in the southeast of the Oblast (Provllia Village, at that time Don Host Area) was investigated and a list of 55 species was published (Greze 1909). In 1982‒1989, the studies aimed at the inventory of spider fauna of the Striltsivskyi Steppe department of the Luhansk Nature Reserve and clarifying the impact of mowing management on spider assemblages (Polchaninova 1990a, Polchaninova 1995, Polchaninova 2012a). Hereinafter, E. Prokopenko (Donetsk National University, Ukraine) continued spider inventory (Prokopenko 2001) and the results were summarised in a survey of the state of knowledge of the spider fauna of Ukrainian steppe reserves (Polchaninova and Prokopenko 2007) and in the spider checklist of the Luhansk Nature Reserve (Polchaninova and Prokopenko 2011). In total, 334 spider species of 28 families were recorded from the Reserve, with 190 species registered in the Striltsivskyi Steppe.

After the devastating fire of 2008 that destroyed all vegetation in the Reserve and its vicinity, arachnological studies were focused on the effect of large-scale steppe fires on spider communities (Polchaninova 2013a, Polchaninova 2013b, Polchaninova 2015, Zografou et al. 2017). In addition, the study localities were expanded to collect spiders in other habitats typical of the region (chalk grasslands, clayey slopes, forests in the gullies, pine plantations etc.). The obtained data on spider inventory and species habitat preferences were included in the Catalogue of Spiders of Left-Bank Ukraine (Polchaninova and Prokopenko 2013, Polchaninova and Prokopenko 2017) and used for the comparison of the spider faunas of various steppe reserves (Polchaninova 1990b, Polchaninova 2012b, Prokopenko and Polchaninova 2017, Polchaninova 2021). At present, 223 spider species are known from the Striltsivskyi Steppe Reserve; other 23 species listed in the catalogue were found outside its territory. This is more than half of the species recorded from the Luhansk Oblast (402 species) (Polchaninova and Prokopenko 2019). Twelve recorded species are rare in Ukraine and 16 species are rare or patchily distributed in the study area. They can serve as bioindicators to determine areas of conservation concern.

General description

Purpose: 

The presented data will contribute to the understanding of the spider fauna of eastern Ukraine, assessment of the effectiveness of conservation management in protected areas and identification of the sites of conservation concern. Moreover, the research on spider post-fire recovery will serve as a basis for evaluating the aftermath of hostilities that arose due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Project description

Title: 

“Northern Eurasia 2022”

Sampling methods

Description: 

The dataset is based on the records of spiders from the northern and north-eastern parts of the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine. The study sites are located in the vicinities of the villages of Novobila, Taniushivka, Zorykivka, Striltsivka, Velykotsk, Krynychne and Horodyshche of the Starobilsk Raion (Fig. 1). A long-term stationary investigation was conducted only in the Striltsivskyi Steppe Department of the Luhansk Nature Reserve and adjacent territory (near Krynychne Village) in two periods: 1982‒1989 and 2009‒2011. The study sites near Zorykivka and Velykotsk were investigated during one field season (May‒September) in 2009 and 2011, respectively, the Kreidovi Vidslonennia Botanical Preserve of Local Importance (Striltsivka) was sampled in May‒August 2011 and September‒October 2021. Other localities were visited only once for ad-hoc collection. The dataset provides 1955 occurrences of 6662 recorded individuals (Polchaninova 2022). In total (excluding iNaturalist), there are only 5,561 occurrences of spiders from Ukraine in GBIF (Gbif.org 2022), so this dataset comprises about one-third of the information published in this format. Eleven types of habitats were investigated: forb-fescue-feather grass steppe on the flat interfluves and the gully slopes, meadow-like vegetation at the gully bottoms, chalk hills with calcareous vegetation, clayey gully slopes with xerophytic steppe vegetation, pasture on mesic floodplain meadows, abandoned fields, river banks with riparian vegetation, forest shelterbelts, pine forest plantations, bairak forests and their edges (semi-natural forests covering gully bottoms and slopes in the south of the Forest-Steppe and the north of the Steppe zone) and synanthropic habitats. The habitat types are adopted from the National Habitat Catalogue of Ukraine (Kuzemko et al. 2018). Depending on the research targets (faunal inventory or impact of disturbance factors), we arranged 32 sampling plots, the greatest attention being paid to the steppe biotopes (Table 1). In the Nature Reserve, the sampling took into account topography and conservation management of the study plot (strictly protected or mowed steppe) that is specified in Table 1. We also marked with the letter B the sampling localities in Striltsivskyi Steppe burnt in August 2008. In the Table of species habitat distribution (Table 2), we combined in one column shelter forest belts+forest edges as ecotone habitats and pine plantations+bairak forests as the forest ones.

Table 1.
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Sampling plots.

Longitude

Latitude

Locality

Habitats

Sampling year

49.29750

40.07278

Krynychne

strictly protected (unmowed steppe) on the flat interfluves B

1982-1989, 2009, 2011

49.29722

40.07139

Krynychne

periodically mowed steppe on a gully slope; mowing was ceased in the 1990s B

1982-1989, 2009, 2011

49.29000

40.08722

Krynychne

periodically mowed steppe on the flat interfluves B

2009, 2011

49.28333

40.08061

Krynychne

periodically mowed steppe on a gully slope B

2009

49.29694

40.07000

Krynychne

B gully bottom with meadow-steppe vegetation

1982-1989, 2009, 2011

49.29278

40.08806

Krynychne

B gully bottom with meadow-steppe vegetation

2009, 2011

49.29611

40.06611

Krynychne

abandoned field B

2011

49.30222

40.06833

Krynychne

chalk slope B

1982-1989, 2009

49.30389

40.07722

Krynychne

pasture on the floodplain meadow and adjacent steppe slopes

1982-1989, 2009

49.30694

40.08389

Krynychne

riverbank with arboreal and herbaceous vegetation

1982-1989, 2009

49.30083

40.07028

Krynychne

forest shelterbelt

1982-1989

49.30083

40.69333

Krynychne

country house

1982-1989

49.29475

40.03912

Krynychne

edge of a bairak forest

2009, 2011

49.29422

40.04094

Krynychne

Caragana thickets on the top of a slope

2009

49.29433

40.04345

Krynychne

the slope of a steppe gully, gully bottom

2009

49.29422

40.04094

Krynychne

abandoned field

2009

49.31364

40.04066

Velykotsk

clayey slope

2011

49.31364

40.04066

Velykotsk

gully bottom

2011

49.37433

39.97010

Velykotsk

bairak forest

2009

49.38804

39.77307

Zorykivka

pine plantation

2009

49.39184

39.80012

Zorykivka

steppe on a gully slope

2009

49.38561

39.87377

Zorykovka

bairak forest and forest edge

2009

49.38914

39.81055

Zorykivka

gully bottom

2009

49.38724

39.81557

Zorykivka

chalk slope

2009

49.28806

39.85083

Striltsivka

chalk slope and gully bottom

2009, 2021

49.04018

39.63299

Horodyshche

steppe on a gully slope

1989

49.05027

39.65027

Horodyshche

forest plantation

1989

49.04916

39.65527

Horodyshche

riverbank

1989

49.05666

39.64750

Horodyshche

chalk slope

1989

49.76270

38.9309

Taniushivka

bairak forest

2009

49.76270

38.93090

Taniushivka

steppe gully

2009

49.76861

39.18805

Novobila

steppe on a slope, mesic meadow

2009
Table 2.
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The list of spider species, their habitat distribution and the number of collected individuals in the northeast of the Luhansk Oblast: 1 ‒ forb-fescue-feather grass steppe on the flat interfluves and gully slopes (including abandoned fields on various stages of vegetation succession); 2 – meadow steppe in the gully bottoms; 3 – chalk slopes; 4 – clayey slopes; 5 – pasture in the floodplain meadow; 6 – forest edges and shelterbelts; 7 – bairak forest and forest plantation; 8 – riverbank; 9 – synanthropic habitats.

Families/Species Types of habitats
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Fam. Agelenidae
Agelena labyrinthica (Clerck, 1757) 2 4 1
Agelenopsis potteri (Blackwall, 1846) 3
Allagelena gracilens (C. L. Koch, 1841) 1
Eratigena agrestis (Walckenaer, 1802) 1
Fam. Anyphaenidae
Anyphaena accentuata (Walckenaer, 1802) 6 1 4
Fam. Araneidae
Agalenatea redii (Scopoli, 1763) 28 15 9 12 3 4 1
Araneus alsine (Walckenaer, 1802) 2 2
Araneus diadematus Сlerck, 1757 2 1 13 27
Araneus quadratus Clerck, 1757 3 10 3 2 5
Araniella cucurbitina (Clerck, 1757) 3 2 5
Araniella displicata (Hentz, 1847) 2 1
Argiope bruennichi (Scopoli, 1772) 34 23 11 12 14 1
Cercidia prominens (Westring, 1851) 7 7 2 3
Cyclosa conica (Pallas, 1772) 9
Cyclosa oculata (Walckenaer, 1802) 4 2 4
Gibbaranea bituberculata (Walckenaer, 1802) 2 1 14 7
Gibbaranea ullrichi (Hahn, 1835) 1
Hypsosinga sanguinea (C. L. Koch, 1844) 4
Hypsosinga albovittata (Westring, 1851) 7 1
Hypsosinga pygmaea (Sundevall, 1831) 1
Larinioides suspicax (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876) 4
Mangora acalypha (Walckenaer, 1802) 67 39 4 12 10 21 86 9
Neoscona adianta (Walckenaer, 1802) 38 9 2 9 3 1
Singa hamata (Clerck, 1757) 19 19 2
Singa nitidula C. L. Koch, 1844 2
Zilla diodia (Walckenaer, 1802) 1 2
Fam. Atypidae
Atypus muralis Bertkau, 1890 4 12
Atypus piceus (Sulzer, 1776) 2 2
Fam. Cheiracanthiidae
Chеiracanthium elegans Thorell, 1875 4
Cheiracanthium erraticum (Walckenaer, 1802) 2 1
Cheiracanthium pennyi O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873 30 9 1 5 1
Cheiracanthium punctorium (Villers, 1789) 6 9 3 6
Cheiracanthium virescens (Sundevall, 1833) 1 1 3 2
Fam. Clubionidae
Clubiona caerulescens L.Koch, 1867 1 1 2
Clubiona frutetorum L. Koch, 1867 1
Clubiona lutescens Westring, 1851 1 1
Clubiona neglecta O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1862 1 3
Clubiona pallidula (Clerck, 1757) 1
Clubiona pseudoneglecta Wunderlich, 1994 3 1
Clubiona stagnatilis Kulczyński, 1897 1
Clubiona subtilis L. Koch, 1867 1 2
Fam. Dictynidae
Brigittea latens (Fabricus, 1775) 40 4 6 4
Dictyna arundinacea (Linnaeus, 1758) 58 35 3 8 14 8 3
Dictyna uncinata Thorell, 1856 2 8
Lathys humilis (Blackwall, 1855) 1
Fam. Eresidae
Eresus sp. 1
Fam. Gnaphosidae
Berlandina cinerea (Menge, 1872) 3 7 3 1 1
Callilepis nocturna (Linnaeus, 1758) 1 4
Civizelotes pygmaeus (Miller, 1943) 1
Drassodes pubescens (Thorell, 1856) 16 15 2 3
Drassyllus lutetianus (L. Koch, 1866) 2
Drassyllus praeficus (L. Koch, 1866) 11 18 1 4
Drassyllus pumilus (C.L. Koch, 1839) 1
Drassyllus pusillus (C. L. Koch, 1833) 1 13 2 1 5 10
Drassyllus villicus (Thorell, 1875) 1 3
Drassyllus vinealis (Kulczyn'ski, 1897) 3
Gnaphosa dolosa O. Herman, 1879 2 1
Gnaphosa leporina (L. Koch, 1866) 159 64 22 1 4 13 10
Gnaphosa licenti Schenkel, 1953 5 12
Gnaphosa lugubris (C. L. Koch, 1839) 7 3 1
Gnaphosa steppica Ovtscharenko, Platnick & Song, 1992 49 1
Gnaphosa taurica Thorell, 1875 2 8 31 1 4
Haplodrassus dalmatensis (L. Koch, 1866) 1
Haplodrassus kulczynskii Lohmander, 1942 31 7 1 3 2 1
Haplodrassus minor (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1879) 1
Haplodrassus signifer (C. L. Koch, 1839) 79 74 2 9 2
Haplodrassus silvestris (Blackwall, 1833) 1 2
Haplodrassus umbratilis (L. Koch, 1866) 39 93 1 1 32 11
Marinarozelotes malckini (Platnick & Murphy, 1984) 1 1 21 1
Micaria bosmansi Kovblyuk & Nadolny, 2008 1 1
Micaria dives (Lucas, 1846) 1
Micaria formicaria (Sundevall, 1831) 5 1 2
Micaria fulgens (Walckenaer, 1802) 4 1 4 3
Micaria pulicaria (Sundevall, 1831) 6 1 2 2 1
Micaria rossica Thorell, 1875 1
Phaeocedus braccatus (L. Koch, 1866) 1 2
Poecilochroa variana (C. L. Koch, 1839) 3 3
Zelotes electus (C. L. Koch, 1839) 165 69 3 1 9 1
Zelotes fuscus (Thorell, 1875) 2 4 4 17
Zelotes latreillei (Simon, 1878) 8 57 1
Zelotes longipes (L. Koch, 1866) 12 9 2 2 1
Zelotes petrensis (C. L. Koch, 1839) 3 1
Zelotes pseudogallicus Ponomarev, 2007 11 7
Zelotes segrex (Simon, 1878) 1
Fam. Hahniidae
Hahnia ononidum Simon, 1875 13
Hahnia pusilla C. L. Koch, 1841 1
Fam. Linyphiidae
Abacoproeces saltuum (L. Koch,1872) 2 4
Agyneta fuscipalpa (C. L. Koch, 1836) 2
Agyneta rurestris (C. L. Koch, 1836) 11 2 2 1 4
Agyneta simplicitarsis (Simon, 1884) 3 1
Agyneta subtilis (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1863) 1
Centromerus sylvaticus (Blackwall, 1841) 3 1
Ceratinella brevis (Wieder, 1834) 1
Dactylopisthes mirificus (Georgescu, 1976) 12 3
Diplocephalus picinus (Blackwall, 1841) 1
Diplostyla concolor (Wider, 1834) 2 1
Entelecara acuminata (Wider, 1834) 5
Floronia bucculenta (Clerck, 1757) 1 1
Gnathonarium dentatum (Wider, 1834) 2 1
Gonatium paradoxum (L. Koch, 1869) 3
Gongylidium rufipes (Linnaeus, 1758) 1 2
Helophora insignis (Blackwall, 1841) 8
Linyphia hortensis Sundevall, 1830 13
Linyphia tenuipalpis Simon, 1884 4 5 4 2 11
Linyphia triangularis (Clerck, 1757) 10 18 6 34 11
Maso sundevalli (Westring, 1851) 7
Megalepthyphantes pseudocollinus Saaristo, 1997 1
Metopobactrus prominulus (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1873 1
Microlinyphia pusilla (Sundevall, 1830) 1 5 2
Microneta viaria (Blackwall, 1841) 1 14
Minicia caspiana Tanasevitch, 1990 3 1
Neriene clathrata (Sundevall, 1830) 1 5 2
Neriene radiata (Walckenaer, 1841) 9
Oedothorax apicatus (Blackwall, 1850) 1
Pelecopsis parallela (Wider, 1834) 3
Pocadicnemis pumila (Blackwall, 1841) 1 2 6
Porrhomma sp. 2
Stemonyphantes lineatus (Linnaeus, 1758) 8 2 1 1 4 1
Tenuiphantes flavipes (Blackwall, 1854) 5
Trichoncoides piscator (Simon, 1884) 1
Trichoncus vasconicus Denis, 1944 4
Uralophantes ponticus Gnelitsa, 2022 1
Walckenaeria antica (Wider, 1834) 1 2
Fam. Liocranidae
Agroeca cuprea Menge, 1873 3 1 2 2
Agroeca lusatica (L. Koch, 1875) 2
Agroeca maculata L. Koch, 1879 23 5
Fam. Lycosidae
Alopecosa cuneata (Clerck, 1757) 197 121 65 3 44 17
Alopecosa cursor (Hahn, 1831) 29 3 8 10
Alopecosa farinosa (Herman, 1879) 2
Alopecosa pulverulenta (Clerck, 1757) 93 170 2 1 1 39 41 1
Alopecosa schmidti (Hahn, 1835) 4
Alopecosa solitaria (Herman, 1879) 20 3 1 3
Alopecosa sulzeri (Pavesi,1873) 16 76 6 11
Alopecosa taeniopus (Kulczyński, 1895) 33 19 1 3 4
Alopecosa trabalis (Clerck, 1757) 1 30 11
Arctosa lutetiana (Simon, 1876) 52 101
Lycosa singoriensis (Laxmann, 1770) 1
Pardosa agrestis (Westring, 1861) 3 3 1
Pardosa amentata (Clerck, 1757) 2
Pardosa italica Tongiorgi, 1966 3
Pardosa lugubris (Walckenaer, 1802) 5 24 38 159
Pardosa paludicola (Clerck, 1757) 2
Pardosa palustris (Linnaeus, 1758) 1 5 1
Pardosa prativaga (L. Koch, 1870) 7 10
Piratula hygrophila (Thorell, 1872) 1
Trochosa robusta (Simon, 1876) 69 36 1 7 4 27 2
Trochosa ruricola (De Geer, 1778) 2 1 1
Trochosa terricola Thorell, 1856 79 162 6 36 46
Xerolycosa miniata (C. L. Koch, 1834) 150 48 13 1
Fam. Mimetidae
Ero aphana (Walckenaer, 1802) 3
Ero furcata (Villers, 1789) 1
Fam. Miturgidae
Zora armillata Simon, 1878 1 1
Zora nemoralis (Blackwall, 1861) 1
Zora pardalis Simon, 1878 4 3 2 1 4 1
Zora silvestris Kulczyński, 1897 7
Zora spinimana (Sundevall, 1833) 1 6
Fam. Oxyopidae
Oxyopes heterophthalmus (Latreille, 1804) 3 6 3
Fam. Philodromidae
Philodromus aureolus (Clerck, 1757) 2
Philodromus cespitum (Walckenaer, 1802) 32 9 1 5 23
Philodromus dispar Walckenaer, 1826 12
Philodromus emarginatus (Schrank, 1803) 1
Rhysodromus histrio (Latreille, 1819) 6
Thanatus arenarius L. Koch, 1872 187 30 6 1 3 1 3
Thanatus sabulosus (Menge, 1875) 5
Tibellus macellus Simon, 1875 19 3 4 5 1
Tibellus maritimus (Menge, 1875) 7 1
Tibellus oblongus (Walckenaer, 1802) 29 23 3 3 7
Fam. Pholcidae
Pholcus ponticus Thorell, 1875 2
Fam. Phrurolithidae
Phrurolithus festivus (C. L. Koch, 1835) 1 5
Phrurolithus pullatus Kulczynski, 1897 3 3
Fam. Pisauridae
Pisaura novicia (L. Koch, 1878) 1 3 1 4 1
Fam. Salticidae
Aelurillus laniger Logunov & Marusik, 2000 6 1 1
Aelurillus v-insignitus (Clerck, 1757) 19 2 5 2
Asianellus festivus (C. L. Koch, 1834) 1 2 2
Attulus dzieduszykii (L. Koch, 1870) 2
Attulus floricola (C. L. Koch, 1837) 3
Ballus chalybeius (Walckenaer, 1802) 3
Carrhotus xanthogramma (Latreille, 1819) 1 1 1 1
Chalcoscirtus nigritus (Thorell, 1875) 1
Euophrys frontalis (Walckenaer, 1802) 6 1 2
Evarcha arcuata (Clerck, 1757) 8 5 5 2 6
Evarcha falcata (Clerck, 1757) 4 4 2 5 4
Evarcha laetabunda (C. L. Koch, 1846) 1 1
Evarcha michailovi Logunov, 1992 18 3 1 2 2
Heliophanus auratus C. L. Koch, 1835 3 2 7
Heliophanus cupreus (Walckenaer, 1802) 5 11 13 9
Heliophanus flavipes (Hahn, 1832) 26 15 5 4 1 3
Marpissa muscosa (Clerck, 1757) 1 1
Myrmarachne formicaria (De Geer, 1778) 1 1
Neon rayi (Simon, 1875) 3 1
Pellenes nigrociliatus (Simon, 1875) 1
Philaeus chrysops (Poda, 1761) 21 3 4 8 5
Phlegra fasciata (Нahn, 1826) 14 5 2
Pseudicius encarpatus (Walckenaer, 1802) 1 2
Salticus scenicus (Clerck, 1757) 1
Sibianor aurocinctus (Ohlert, 1865) 2
Synageles hilarulus (C. L. Koch, 1846) 2 5
Synageles subcingulatus (Simon, 1878) 4 2
Talavera aequipes (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1871) 3 2
Fam. Sparassidae
Micrommata virescens (Clerck, 1757) 1 4 3
Fam. Tetragnathidae
Metellina segmentata (Clerck, 1757) 20 4
Pachygnatha clercki Sundevall, 1823 1
Pachygnatha degeeri Sundevall, 1830 3 1
Tetragnatha extensa (Linnaeus, 1758) 7 4
Tetragnatha montana Simon, 1874 5 7
Fam. Theridiidae
Asagena phalerata (Panzer, 1801) 1 2 1 1
Crustulina guttata (Wider, 1834) 4 5 1 1 2 1
Enoplognatha ovata (Clerck, 1757) 1 4 26 6
Enoplognatha thoracica (Hahn, 1833) 1
Euryopis quinqueguttata Thorell, 1875 2 1
Euryopis saukea Levi, 1951 2 1
Heterotheridion nigrovariegatum (Simon, 1873) 6 2 1 1
Lasaeola tristis (Hahn, 1833) 1
Neottiura bimaculata (Linnaeus, 1767) 6 3 1 1
Neottiura suaveolens (Simon, 1880) 11 4
Phylloneta impressa (L. Koch, 1881) 20 2 12 2
Platnickina tincta (Walckenaer, 1802) 2 1
Robertus heydemanni Wiehle, 1965 1
Simitidion simile (C. L. Koch, 1836) 18 6 2 3 8
Steatoda albomaculata (De Geer, 1778) 2
Steatoda castanea (Clerck, 1757) 3
Theridion innocuum Thorell, 1875 3
Theridion pinastri L. Koch, 1872 1
Theridion varians Hahn, 1833 2 1
Fam. Thomisidae
Ebrechtella tricuspidata (Fabricius, 1775) 1 3 1 10 2
Heriaeus oblongus Simon, 1918 14 5
Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757) 4 5 2 4
Ozyptila atomaria (Panzer, 1801) 1 2
Ozyptila praticola (C. L. Koch, 1837) 1 6
Ozyptila scabricula (Westring, 1851) 33 6 3 1 1 1
Ozyptila tuberosa (Thorell, 1875) 1
Pistius truncatus (Pallas, 1772) 1
Psammitis ninnii (Thorell, 1872) 1 1
Spiracme mongolicus Schenkel, 1963 1
Spiracme striatipes L. Koch, 1870 52 27 3 17 2
Thomisus onustus Walckenaer, 1805 29 9 5 14 1
Tmarus piger (Walckenaer, 1802) 5 1 4
Xysticus cristatus (Clerck, 1757) 51 9 4 12 1 3
Xysticus kochi Thorell, 1872 12 5 1 4 1 1
Xysticus laetus Thorell, 1875 4 1
Xysticus lanio C. L. Koch, 1835 1
Xysticus luctator L. Koch, 1870 10
Xysticus marmoratus Thorell, 1875 2
Xysticus ulmi (Hahn, 1831) 1 1
Fam. Titanoecidae
Titanoeca schineri L. Koch, 1872 1
Fam. Uloboridae
Uloborus walckenaerius Latreille, 1806 4 1 10
Figure 1.  

Map of collecting localities in the northeast of Luhansk Oblast: 1 - Taniushivka, 2 - Novobila, 3 - Zorykivka, 4 - Striltsivka, 5 - Velykotsk, 6 - Horodyshche, 7 - Krynychne, site of stationary monitoring the Striltsivskyi Steppe department of the Luhansk Nature Reserve and its vicinity.

Sampling description: 

Spiders were collected by standard collecting methods: sweep netting, pitfall trapping, quadrat sampling and by hand. Plastic cups of 6.5 cm diameter were used as traps and 4% formalin was used for preservation. At each study plot, we set a line of 10 traps at a 10 m distance. The traps were exposed for 3‒5 days once per month in the study period 1982‒1989. In 2009‒2011, the traps were checked approximately once a month from early May to early July and from September to October. Sweep netting was conducted with a 30-cm diameter entomological net, three to five samples of 50 sweeps per plot/month. The quadrat sampling was performed by collecting spiders by hand from 25 x 25 cm plots on the ground and in the litter and thatch.The number of individuals given in the dataset can be normalised to 100 trap-days, other sampling efforts are not specified. The hand collecting was only qualitative.

Quality control: 

The collected spiders were preserved in 70% ethanol and identified by the first author (NP). Taxonomy nomenclature follows the World Spider Catalog (http://wsc.nmbe.ch, accessed 10.11.2022). The material is deposited in N. Polchaninova’s private collection (Kharkiv, Ukraine).

Step description: 

  1. Field expeditions to the study sites.

  2. Establishing a line of ten traps at a distance of 10 m at each study plot.

  3. Regular checking of the traps.

  4. Sweep netting conducted in the same habitats, three to five samples of 25 double sweeps per plot; hand collecting.

  5. Georeferencing with the help of GPS-navigator.

  6. Species identification in the laboratory.

  7. Organising of a dataset according to Darwin Core standards.

Geographic coverage

Description: 

All collecting localities are limited to the Starobilsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast. Two localities lie in the north of the region, one in the south and the others in the northeast. The area in question is located on the southern spurs of the Central Russian Upland. The climate is moderate continental. In terms of physical-geographical division, the area belongs to the Starobilsk slope-and-upland oblast of the Transdonets-Don krai, of the Northern steppe subzone of the Steppe zone (Marynych et al. 2003). In terms of geo-botanical zoning, it refers to the Siverskyi Donets okrug of the forb-bunchgrass steppes, bairak oak forests and vegetation of the chalk outcrops (tomillares) of the Middle Don subprovince of the Pontic steppe province of the Eurasian steppe region (Didukh and Shelyag-Sosonko 2003).

Coordinates: 

47.806 and 50.078 Latitude; 37.837 and 40.166 Longitude.

Taxonomic coverage

Description: 

The dataset includes records of 6662 spiders belonging to 246 species of 137 genera and 27 families (Table 2). Most individuals were identified at the species level.

Taxa included:
Rank Scientific Name
kingdom Animalia
phylum Arthropoda
class Arachnida
order Araneae
family Araneidae
family Agelenidae
family Anyphaenidae
family Atypidae
family Cheiracanthiidae
family Clubionidae
family Dictynidae
family Eresidae
family Gnaphosidae
family Hahniidae
family Lycosidae
family Linyphiidae
family Liocranidae
family Mimetidae
family Miturgidae
family Oxyopidae
family Philodromidae
family Pholcidae
family Phrurolithidae
family Pisauridae
family Salticidae
family Sparassidae
family Tetragnathidae
family Theridiidae
family Thomisidae
family Titanoecidae
family Uloboridae

Temporal coverage

Data range: 
1982-7-02 - 2021-9-24.

Usage licence

Usage licence: 
Open Data Commons Attribution License

Data resources

Data package title: 
Spiders (Araneae) of the northeast of the Luhansk Oblast (Ukraine)
Resource link: 
https://www.gbif.org/uk/dataset/765d4ecb-a667-4f23-b95e-5254e7140d7e
Alternative identifiers: 
https://doi.org/10.15468/8upy6t
Number of data sets: 
1
Data set name: 
Spiders (Araneae) of the northeast of the Luhansk Oblast (Ukraine)
Data format: 
Darwin Core
Data format version: 
1.9
Column label Column description
occurrenceID http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/occurrenceID; an identifier of a particular occurrence, unique within this dataset. The code as made of an English variant of the author's surname, Araneae order and sequence number.
basisOfRecord http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/basisOfRecord;the method in which data were acquired. Only "Occurrence" type was used.
scientificName http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificName;scientific names of the registered species according to the World Spider Catalogue (WSC 2022) and corrections of some spelling mistakes amd mismatches using GBIF Species Matching tool.
scientificNameAuthorship http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificNameAuthorship; the authorship information for the provided scientific name of the registered species.
acceptedNameUsage http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/acceptedNameUsage;the full name of the currently valid taxon of registered species from Araneae order.
kingdom http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/kingdom; the full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified.
phylum http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/phylum; the full scientific name of the phylum or division in which the taxon is classified.
class http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/class;the full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified.
order http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/order; the full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified.
family http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/family; the full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified.
genus http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/genus;the full scientific name of the genus in which the taxon is classified.
specificEpithet http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/specificEpithet; the name of the first or species epithet of the scientificName.
taxonRank http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/taxonRank; the taxonomic rank of the most specific name in the scientificName.
decimalLatitude http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/decimalLatitude; geographic latitude in decimal degrees.
decimalLongitude http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/decimalLongitude; geographic longitude in decimal degrees.
geodeticDatum http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/geodeticDatum;spatial reference system upon which the geographic coordinates are given (WGS84).
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/coordinateUncertaintyInMeters; the horizontal distance (in metres) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the location.
recordedBy http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/recordedBy;authorship of the record.
georeferencedBy http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/georeferencedBy;the person, who provided the records with correct coordinates.
identifiedBy http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/identifiedBy;authorship of the taxon identification.
language http://purl.org/dc/terms/language; the language of the resource.
verbatimEventDate http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimEventDate;the original form or even date record in the author's notes from the fieldwork.
eventDate http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/eventDate;the date-time when the event was recorded.
year http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/year;the year in which the record was made.
type http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/type; the nature or genre of the resource.
modified http://purl.org/dc/terms/modified;the year on which the resource was changed.
habitat http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/habitat;the description of the habitat, where the record was made.
continent http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/continent;the name of the continent in which the location is situated.
country http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/country; the name of the country in which the location is situated (Ukraine).
countryCode http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/countryCode;the standard code for the country in which the location is situated (UA).
stateProvince http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/stateProvince;the name of the smaller administrative region than country in which the location is situated (Luhansk Oblast).
locality http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/locality; the specific description of the place, where the record was made.
verbatimLocality http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimLocality; original textual description of the place according to the author's notes from the fieldwork.
samplingProtocol http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/samplingProtocol; methods used during the research.
samplingEffort http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/samplingEffort; amount of effort expended during the fieldwork.
occurrenceStatus http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/occurrenceStatus; statement about the presence or absence of a taxon at a location.
disposition http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/disposition; the current state of a specimen after the record was made.
organismQuantityType http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/organismQuantityType; the type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms.
organismQuantity http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/organismQuantity; enumeration value for the quantity of organisms.
organismRemarks http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/organismRemarks;additional notes about the recorded animals.
sex http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/iri/sex;the sex of the biological individual(s).
lifeStage http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/lifeStage;the life stage of the registered animals.

Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere gratitude to the Olin gGmbH foundation for their help and support for the preservation of data on the biodiversity of Ukraine obtained by the Ukrainian scientists, who were forced to leave their homeland due to the war (Russia's invasion of Ukraine). We are also thankful to Larisa Borovyk, director of the Luhansk Nature Reserve, for her cooperation and for providing information on the study area and the Reserve’s history. We really appreciate the valuable comments of our colleagues, Anna Hirna, Christo Deltshev and Niclas Fritzén which contributed to the improvement of the initial draft.

References

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