A Study onThe Seasonal Diversity of Spidersin Selected Sites of Kollam District, Kerala

Spiders play an important role in ecological balance and are considered to be the ecological indicators. Seasonal Diversity of Spider fauna was carried out in selected areas of Kollam district at Southern Kerala during Pre-monsoon, Monsoon and Post-Monsoon in 2024. Under the Order Araneae, a total of 53 species belonging to 17 families namely Araneidae, Salticidae, Pholcidae, Sparassidae, Hersiliidae, Cheiracanthiidae, Scytodidae, Zoropsidae, Oecobiidae, Agelenidae, Uloboridae, Oxyopidae, Sicariidae, Philodromidae, Nephilidae, Linyphidae, Tetragnathidae were identified. Among this family Araneidae was found to be the most dominant family compared to other families. The Monsoon season showed that the highest species richness (S1: 17, S2: 14 and S3: 26) & species abundance (S1: 52, S2: 129 and S3: 71) and minimum species richness (S1: 5, S2: 8 and S3: 5) & species abundance (S1: 9, S2: 14 and S3: 14) was observed at post-monsoon season. The Shannon index was maximum during monsoon season (S1: 2.36, S2: 2.03 and S3: 2.88) and minimum Shannon index was observed at post-monsoon season (S1: 1.43, S2: 1.38 and S3: 1.93)