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WSN 147 (2020) 61-75 EISSN 2392-2192

Diversity Spectrum of Fauna in Backyard Rice Agroecosystem, Narendrapur, ,

Sumana Saha1,a, Ampita Bhadra1,b and Dinendra Raychaudhuri2,c 1Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Government College, 10, K.N.C. Road, Barasat, – 7000124, India 2IRDM Faculty Centre, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University, Narendrapur, Kolkata – 700103, India a,b,cE-mail address: [email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected]

ABSTRACT A survey of associated with the rice agroecosystem in Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Campus, Narendrapur, South 24, Parganas, India results a total of 17 species under 16 genera distributed over 7 spider families in kharif crop season during August 2019 – November 2019. Of these, two species Rhene decorata Tikader and Thomisus sikkimensis Tikader are recognised as endemic to India. Runcinia insecta (L. Koch) is recorded for the first time from West Bengal and Camaricus formosus Thorell, Cyclosa spirifera Simon and Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer) recorded first time from rice field of West Bengal. Total number of spiders per sample is maximum in the maturity stage of paddy when pests attain their peak. Spiders are collected from diverse habitats within the paddy field, viz. crop canopy, border weeds and in the flood water. Among spiders family Salticidae is the most dominant group. Analysis of their zoogeographical distribution reveals that the fauna apart from being Oriental also includes some Ethiopian (17.65%), Australian, Neotropical and Palaearctic (each 11.76%) and Nearctic (5.88%) elements. The dominant guild is constituted by the Ambushers (7.44%) followed by Ground Runners (6.37%) and Orb Web Weavers (3.19%). Ranking sequence of most abundant four species are [in descending order]: shweta (Tikader) (34.72%) > Plexippus paykullii (Audouin) (13.89%) > Camaricus formosus (Thorell) (12.50%) > Rhene decorata Tikader (9.72%). Sex ratio (♀ : ♂) is around 11 : 1. Availability of food/season and/or cannibalism may be the factors for female dominated

( Received 24 June 2020; Accepted 13 July 2020; Date of Publication 14 July 2020 ) World Scientific News 147 (2020) 61-75

society. This work aims to generate data-base on the diversity spectrum of spiders in the rice agroecosystem along the growth period of the rice plants and to propose definite management plan for limiting pesticidal load.

Keywords: Diversity spectrum, spider, rice agroecosystem, south 24, parganas, West Bengal

1. INTRODUCTION

Rice lands are the most familiar landscape to people mostly of tropical countries (Dale, 1994). Rice is the most common staple food almost across globe. Dependence on paddy is a century old culture. This led to improvise both agronomic practices and variety. Simultaneous to such practices, everywhere a large number of insects in course of time have become pests to paddy (Grist & Lever, 1969; Chelliah et al., 1989; Settle et al., 1996; Schoenly et al. 1998). Question of dealing with the pest insects was and still is resolved by opting for insecticides. Pesticide use on one hand do reduce the pest problem but on the other invites several human health problem. Rethinking of management practices demanded organic farming and use of biological weapons to get rid of pests (Baltazar, 1963; Gabriel, 1978; Anonymous, 1979; Chandra, 1979 and Swaminathan & Siddiq, 1991). Generalists are more favoured than the specialists. With this background several workers emphasized studies on the generalists like spiders than specialists (Barrion & Litsinger, 1980; Pantua et al., 1980; Wang, 1985; Thakur et al., 1995; Lee & Kim, 2001; Sebastian et al., 2005; Singh et al., 2005; Rodrigues et al, 2009; Dalwadi, 2010; Vinothkumar, 2012; Keswani & Vankhede, 2014; Anitha & Vijay, 2016; Joseph & Premila, 2016; Chandra & Singh, 2017; Bao, 2018; Basu, 2019). We too initiated a study to develop a database on the spiders inhabiting ricelands of Ramakrishna Mission, Narendrapur since July, 2019. The study may, in the long run be integrated in the management practices. We are here to share the knowledge gathered so far.

Study Area (Fig. 1) Weekly survey is conducted during August to November, 2019 (Kharif season) in the agricultural field of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Campus, Narendrapur, , West Bengal, India

2. MATERIALS & METHODS

Sampling is done mainly by hand picking, bush beating, sweeping & using inverted umbrella (Fig. 2) in the rice field. Spiders are encountered in the field during maturity stage of paddy when pests attain their peak (Figs. 3, 4 & 5). Samples are killed and preserved in 70% alcohol as per recommendation of Tikader (1987) and Barrion & Litsinger (1995). The materials are studied using Stereo Zoom Binocular Microscope, model Olympus SZX-16. The measurements are in millimeters, made with an eye piece graticule. Materials are in the deposition of Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Barasat Government College, Barasat, Kolkata.

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Fig. 1. Study Area.

Fig. 2. Sampling Methods

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Fig. 3. Different growth stages of rice

Fig. 4. Rice pests encountered during field survey for spiders.

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Fig. 5. Spiders encountered during field survey

3. RESULTS : TAXONOMIC ACCOUNT

Order: Araneae

Diagnosis: Body divisible into cephalothorax and abdomen, joined by narrow, stalk like edicel. Eyes 6-8, simple. Legs 4 pairs, jointed. Book lungs 1-2 pairs. Spinnerets 2-3 pairs.

Suborder:

Diagnosis: Cheliceral fangs diaxial i.e. opposing each other. Book lungs 1 pair. Spinnerets 3 pairs. Cribellum (modified median spinnerets) and colulus (transformed Cribellum) usually present. Sternum without any sigillae.

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Key to Family

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4. RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Throughout the period of survey, only 72 spider individuals are sampled that included 17 species under 16 genera distributed over 7 spider families (Table 1; Fig. 6). Of these, two species Rhene decorata Tikader and Thomisus sikkimensis Tikader are recognised as endemic to India. Runcinia insecta (L.Koch) is recorded for the first time from West Bengal and Camaricus formosus Thorell, Cyclosa spirifera Simon and Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer) recorded first time from rice field of West Bengal. Total number of spiders per sample is lower in the early crop stages and increasing to the end of the crop cycle, maximum in the maturity stage of paddy when pests attain their peak. Spiders are collected from diverse habitats within the paddy field. Most of the spiders are collected from the crop canopy. They are also recorded from the border weeds and in the flood water. This is in agreement with similar observations made by Kamal et al. (1990), Tandon & Abraham (2000), Mathirajan (2001) and Fang et al. (2003). Among spiders family Salticidae is the most dominant group (Fig. 7). Analysis of their zoogeographical distribution reveals that the fauna apart from being Oriental also includes some Ethiopian (17.65%), Australian, Neotropical and Palaearctic (each 11.76%) and Nearctic (5.88%) elements (Table 1). The dominant guild is constituted by the Ambushers (7.44%) followed by Ground Runners (6.37%) and Orb Web Weavers (3.19%) (Table 2; Figs. 8 & 9). Ranking sequence of most abundant four species are [in descending order]: Oxyopes shweta (Tikader) (34.72%) > Plexippus paykullii (Audouin) (13.89%) > Camaricus formosus (Thorell) (12.50%) > Rhene decorata Tikader (9.72%). Sex ratio (♀ : ♂) is around 11 : 1 (Table 1). Availability of food/season and/or cannibalism may be the factors for female dominated society. Tilled fields with low vegetation complexity represent a critical period for predator’s establishment (Ryptstra et al., 1999). The recovery of spider populations after disturbances in the field is achieved by reproduction, but immigration of surrounding habitats is also very important (Thorbek & Topping 2005). Therefore, surrounding habitats like pastures, other crops and riparian vegetation patches could serve as a reservoir of species that can recolonise the rice crop after the tillage or other management disturbances (Thorbek & Bilde 2004). It is presumed that foraging and competition compel the spiders to float across the long distance in air by ballooning and gets rehabilitated to begin the life cycle afresh. Therefore, flow of the wind may determine the richness, diversity and distribution of the spider fauna at large. Ballooning especially present in tetragnathid species represent a good ability for dispersion, colonisation and survival to water contact (Hayashi et al. 2015), which is an advantageous characteristic for living in rice paddy fields (Bao et al, 2018). Such a low spider data warrants to identify the factors that limited the spider populations from landing and colonisation. At this point, it won’t be out of place to share the identified constraints of the spider populations in the paddy fields of Agricultural farm of RKMVERI : 1) Entire Agricultural farm of RKMVERI is with a brick-walled boundary (7 ft. height) beyond which there are several high risers. This is certainly limiting the airflow by acting as a curtain before the spider population for landing; 2) Narrow edge along the margins of the experimental plots, such a narrow border limits the weeds and other noncrop vegetation to grow, thereby limiting creation of new habitat/s and binding sites especially for the orb-weavers. Our view gets strong support from the discussion referred above. The three feeding guilds of spiders possessing diverse prey capturing techniques play a key role in the regulation of pest population in rice fields. Moreover most of the wet land paddy field inhabiting spiders possesses amazing

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adaptations which enable better survival of the spiders. The diversity within the different species, within the family, between the families, between the genera and between the guilds, in predation, prey capturing, adaptation and habitat selection are factors which render spiders, as potential dominant predators in agro ecosystems. Field margin and non-crop vegetation in agricultural systems are potential ecosystem service providers because they offer semi-natural habitats for both below and above ground organisms that are service supplying units. They are considered as a target area for enhancing farm biodiversity (Mkenda et al., 2019). Promotion of field margin plants that selectively enhance the population of beneficial organisms like spiders in rice field would support sustainable food security.

Table 1. Spider taxa recorded from rice agroecosystem of Ramakishna Mission Ashram Campus, Narendrapur in kharif crop season

Distribution No. of Zoogeographical Sl. No. Family Name of Species within rice individuals distribution field collected I. Araneidae 1. Cyclosa 1. (Orb-weaving Crop canopy Oriental 1♀ spirifera Simon Spiders) 2. Neoscona theisi Border weeds Oriental 1♀ (Walckenaer) II. Clubionidae 2. 3.Clubiona sp. 1 Flood water Oriental 2♀ (imm) (Sac Spiders)

4.Clubiona sp. 2 Flood water Oriental 2♂ (imm)

III. Oxyopidae 5. Oxyopes 3. Crop canopy Oriental 23♀ + 2♂ (Lynx Spiders) shweta (Tikader) 6. Carrhotus IV Salticidae 4. viduus (C.L. Crop canopy Oriental 1♀ (Jumping Spiders) Koch) 7. Hyllus semicupreus Crop canopy Oriental 1♀ (Simon) 8. Phintella vittata (C.L. Crop canopy Oriental 3♀ Koch) Australian, 9. Plexippus Ethiopian, Crop canopy, paykulii Nearctic, 9♀+1♂ Flood water (Audouin) Neotropical, Oriental, Palaearctic 10. Rene Crop canopy Oriental 7♀ decorata Tikader 11. Thiana bhamoensis Crop canopy Oriental 3♀ Thorell

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V. Sparassidae (Huntsman 5. 12. Olios sp. ♀ Crop canopy Oriental 1♀ Spiders)

VI. Tetragnathidae 13. Leucauge Ethiopian, Border weeds, 6. (Long-jawed orb- decorata Neotropical, 1♀ + 1♂ Crop canopy weaving Spiders) (Walckenaer) Oriental, Palaearctic 14. Camaricus VII. 7. formosus Crop canopy Oriental 9♀ (Crab Spiders) Thorell 15. Runcinia Australian, Crop canopy 2♀ insecta (L.Koch) Ethiopian, Oriental 16. Thomisus sikkimemsis Crop canopy Oriental 1♀ Tikader

17. Xysticus sp. Crop canopy Oriental 1♀

72 Total (66♀ +6♂)

(A)

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(B)

(C) Fig. 6(A,B,C). Spiders sampled during field survey

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Fig. 7. Familywise species rishness

3.19% Ambushers

7. 44% Ground Runners

6.37% Orb Web Weaver

Fig. 8. Distribution of spider species trapped under different trophic niches from the ricelands of Narendrapur

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Fig. 9. Various spider guilds in rice ecosystem.

Table 2. Different functional guilds of spider taxa recorded from the study area.

Families Guilds

Araneidae, Tetragnathidae Orb Web Weavers

Clubionidae, Oxyopidae, Sparassidae, Ambushers Thomisidae

Salticidae Ground Runners

5. CONCLUSION

Future research should focus on the survey of spiders throughout the entire annual rice crop cycle including rabi crop season (which is not initiated for sudden lockdown due to pandemic Covid-19) to observe the successional occurrence of the different spider taxa within the rice ecosystem and evaluate the effects of proposed management strategies on biodiversity, in order to promote its conservation and assure a sustainable rice crop production through natural biological control.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors express their deep sense of gratitude to The Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI), Narendrapur and The Principal, Barasat Government College for necessary logistic support. The authors also wish to acknowledge The Secretary & The Dean, RKMVERI, Narendrapur for necessary permission to carry out the project within the campus.

References

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