Wolf Spider (Araneae, Lycosidae) Fauna of an Old Abandoned Agricultural Village of Mutenia in Finnish Lapland
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Memoranda Soc. Fauna Flora Fennica 85:20–27. 2009 Wolf spider (Araneae, Lycosidae) fauna of an old abandoned agricultural village of Mutenia in Finnish Lapland Juhani Itämies & Olli Nenonen Itämies, J. Zoological Museum, P.O.Box 3000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland. E-mail: [email protected] Nenonen, O. Kemijoki hydropower company, P.O.Box 131, FI-96101 Rovaniemi, Fin- land The study was carried out in the Mutenia meadow area on the northern shore of Lokka res- ervoir in Finnish Lapland in the years 2000–2002. Mutenia is an old Lappish agricultural village, from which the last inhabitants moved away in the late 1960s. It has been kept as meadow by mowing. The material was collected with pitfall traps and window traps made of balcony flower pots situated on the ground. The total number of species was 17, includ- ing 1816 individuals. Pardosa palustris (Linnaeus) (35.6%) and P. sphagnicola (Dahl) (33.0%) were the two most abundant species. The next two in frequency were Alopecosa aculeata (Clerck) (14.4%) and A. pulverulenta (Clerck) (6.2%). Pardosa lasciva L. Koch and P. a tr a ta (Thorell) represented the northern fauna element, while P. fulvipes (Collet) and P. paludicola (Clerck) belonged to a southern type. There were two new biogeo- graphical records: Pardosa fulvipes and P. pullata (Clerck). 1. Introduction summer. Reideer graze in the area occasionally. Only some single saplings of Scots pine (Pinus The meadow area of Mutenia is an exceptional site sylvestris), Norwegian spruces (Picea abies)anda in a landscape otherwise dominated by bogs, fens few Goat willows (Salix caprea) have managed to and coniferous forests in Forest Lapland. Vegeta- grow. tion in Mutenia is polymorphic due to its variable The invertebrate fauna, including wolf spiders topography and long history of settlement. The (Araneae, Lycosidae), of northernmost Lapland is area has been classified as an important traditional moderately well known thanks to the biological landscape of regional value (Kalpio & Bergman stations of Kilpisjärvi and Kevo, which have sig- 1999). The origin of the village dates back to the nificantly promoted faunistic research (Kleemola 18th century, when the first permanent inhabitants 1962, Koponen 1975 and 1976). The biogeogra- arrived. At its prime, the village consisted of more phical province of LKem has usually been over- than ten residential buildings. The management of looked in this respect. Palmgren (1965) studied the meadows and fields subsided in the 1960s, when wolf spider fauna of Pallastunturi area in the west- the last permanent inhabitants moved out of the ern part of this province. When Vuotos, a prospec- village (Nenonen 2003). However, up till the tive water reservoir area at Pelkosenniemi was 1990s, the most eutrophic meadows of the region thoroughly inventoried in 1994–1995, our knowl- were reaped for reindeer feed. Systematic habitat edge of the wolf spider fauna of the eastern part in- management was started in 1996, since when the creased remarkably. For instance, eight new pro- whole area has been annually reaped in the late vincial records were booked (Similä & Itämies Memoranda Soc. Fauna Flora Fennica 85, 2009 • Itämies & Nenonen 21 2000). The general habitat demands of various de by a dry old pine forest, where the characteristic wolf spider species are well known due to the basic plants are Vaccinium myrtillus, V. uliginosum and work of Palmgren (1939). Quite recently, Mat- V. vitis-idaea. Empetrum and D. flexuosa are also veinen-Huju (2004) compiled the Finnish habitat abundant. Northeast of the corner of the hilly area affinity data of over 200 boreal spiders, including starts a large open bog. It begins as a pine bog and the family Lycosidae, which made it easier to find then turns into quite open fen. Betula nana, Eriop- relevant information. horum vaginatum, Salix phylicifolia, S. lapponum In 2000, the collection of ground-living inver- and Carex spp. are the most typical plants. On the tebrates was started in Mutenia. In this article, we shore meadows of Lake Lokka, there are even oc- describe the fauna of wolf spiders (Araneae, casional Pedicularis palustris stands. Lycosidae). The material was collected with pitfall traps (nos. 1–16) in the years 2000–2002. The trap com- position was as follows: normal pitfall traps made 2. Material and methods of one-liter plastic jars (with 44 cm edge length) and window traps (made of plastic balcony flower Mutenia is located on the northern shore of Lokka pot (symbol a–g; with 142 cm edge length) placed reservoir in Finnish Lapland (Grid 27ºE 754:351). on the ground among the vegetation, which also It is close to the southwestern corner of Urho collected wolf spiders. In the last year, the collec- Kekkonen National Park. The whole area is 16 ting was done with only 11 pitfall traps and five hectares in size. It consists of a sloping hillside that window traps. The pitfall traps 10–15 and the win- is open meadow throughout. There are still three dow trap g were not in use that year. The trap sites buildings left, which are used as vacation homes are characterised as follows: 1., 6. and 7. meadow for the personnel and visitors of Kemijoki with D. cespitosa; 2.–5. old stone foundations hydropower company. Otherwise, only hares and among old Salix caprea and with rich vegetation of reindeers move there. Epilobium angustifolium; 8. a small “forest” patch The vegetation varies between drier and more with a few P.abies and S. caprea, with V.myrtillus; humid types. In the drier parts, the following plants 9. and c. a forest-like zone with some P. abies and are worth mentioning: Achillea millefolium, An- Betula nana, Vaccinium vitis-idaea. 10. and d.be- tennaria dioica, Botrychium lunaria, B. multifi- low a large Salix lapponum; 11. drier part of the dum, Deschampsia flexuosa, Diphasiastrum alpi- meadow close to a heath-like area (S. virgaurea); num, D. complanatum ssp. montellii, Festuca ovi- 12–15. and g. a heath-like dry area with P. s y lv e - na, Leucanthemum vulgare, Luzula multiflora, Ly- stris, V. vitis-idaea, V. uliginosum and richly open copodium annotinum ssp. alpestre, Rhinanthus se- ground; 16. and e. a grassy waste pit surrounded by rotinus, R. groenlandicus and Solidago virgaurea. meadow (Silene dioica, Urtica dioica); 17. and b.a The more humid parts are characterised by Alche- small impression in the meadow; f. the middle part milla glomerulans, Anthriscus sylvestris, De- of the meadow. schampsia cespitosa, Epilobium angustifolium, The spiders were identified by JI. Only adult Filipendula ulmaria, Polemonium acutiflorum, individuals were included. Some qualified samp- Silene dioica, Trollius europaeus and Veronica les are preserved in the collections of the zoologi- longifolia. cal museum of the University of Oulu. The nomen- The lower slope of the hillside bordering on clature follows Almqvist (2005). water is partly open sand and gravel, while some- what further from the water line, there is a more or less continuous Carex aquatilis belt. Around the 3. Results buildings and around the old stone foundations of houses, there grows Urtica dioca and various The total number of species was 17, including Brassicaceae. The vascular plant nomenclature 1,816 individuals (Table 1). The yearly numbers of follow Field Flora of Finland (Hämet-Ahti et al. species varied from 10 (2001) to 14 (2000). Simi- 1998). larly, the total catches varied between the years The Mutenia hill is bordered on the eastern si- from 723 exx. in 2000 to 432 exx. in 2001. Par- 22 Itämies & Nenonen • Memoranda Soc. Fauna Flora Fennica 85, 2009 Table 1. Yearly (2000–2001) wolf spider (Araneae, Lycosidae) catches at Mutenia, Finnish Forest Lapland (see Material and Methods). Species Total 2000 2001 2002 Alopecosa aculeata (Clerck) 265 115 104 46 Alopecosa pinetorum (Thorell) 43–1 Alopecosa pulverulenta (Clerck) 112 92 – 20 Alopecosa taeniata (C.L.Koch) 21 – 4 17 Pardosa amentata (Clerck) 71 19 1 51 Pardosa atrata (Thorell) 13 10 1 2 Pardosa fulvipes (Collet) 1––1 Pardosa hyperborea (Thorell) 26 15 1 10 Pardosa lasciva L.Koch 11–– Pardosa lugubris (Walckenaer) 35 18 2 15 Pardosa paludicola (Clerck) 22–– Pardosa palustris (Linnaeus) 655 273 274 108 Pardosa pullata (Clerck) 53–2 Pardosa sphagnicola (Dahl) 599 172 46 381 Pardosia riparia (C.L.Koch) 11–– Pirata piraticus (Clerck) 431– Pirata piscatorius (Clerck) 1–1– Total of specimens 1,816 727 435 654 Total of species 17 14 10 12 dosa palustris (646 exx.) and P. sphagnicola (598 but within a narrower area. Pardosa palustris and exx.) were the two most abundant species. The P. sphagnicola were found abundantly in almost next two were Alopecosa aculeata (265 exx.) and every trap. The last-mentioned species avoided to A. pulverulenta (112 exx.). After these, the catches some extent the traps 11 and 12 located in rather of individuals decreased remarkably. Four species open terrain near the wet impression. The only were represented by only one specimen: Pardosa Pardosa lasciva and the two P.paludicola individ- fulvipes, P. lasciva, P. riparia and Pirata piscato- uals were caught by the trap 10 located in open rius. pine heath-like terrain. The only Pirata piscato- The different species were mostly distributed rius individual was found in trap 13 rather close to unevenly between the traps (Table 2). A. aculeata the lake shore. The few individuals of P. piraticus clearly favoured the sites with some trees. The tree instead were collected in the middle of the species did not seem to be so crucial, because the meadow. traps 11–15 were surrounded by sparse growth of Scotch pines (P.sylvestris), the traps 2–4 by single willows (S. caprea) and the traps 8 and 9 slightly 4.