Arthropoda Selecta 29(3): 387–398 © ARTHROPODA SELECTA, 2020 On the spider fauna (Arachnida: Aranei) of the Kanin Peninsula and Kolguev Island, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia Î ôàóíå ïàóêîâ (Arachnida: Aranei) ïîëóîñòðîâà Êàíèí è îñòðîâà Êîëãóåâ, Íåíåöêèé Àâòîíîìíûé îêðóã, Ðîññèÿ Anna A. Nekhaeva Àííà À. Íåõàåâà A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospect 33, Moscow 119071, Russia. E-mail: [email protected] Институт проблем экологии и эволюции им. А.Н. Северцова РАН, Ленинский пр., 33, Москва, 119071, Россия. E-mail: [email protected] KEY WORDS: biotopic distribution, species list, tundra, Low Arctic, distribution. КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ СЛОВА: биотопическое распределение, список видов, тундра, низкая Арктика, распрос- транение. ABSTRACT. The first faunistic data on spiders Nevertheless, even here, in a relatively accessible terri- occurring in the Kanin Peninsula and Kolguev Island, tory, some territories remain absolutely unexplored, whence only three species were earlier known with for instance, the Kanin Peninsula in Nenets Autono- certainty, are provided. Species lists consist of 75 and mous Okrug. The only data on spiders from this large 25 species, respectively. Yet data on habitat preferenc- terrain available to date were generated by the 1902 es of the recorded species are given. A total of 86 Kanin expedition organized by Imperial Russian Geo- species are currently known from the Kanin Peninsula graphical Society [Zhitkov, 1904]. The expedition ex- and Kolguev Island. The diversity and activity of spi- plored the southern part of the Kanin Peninsula from ders in the studied communities are briefly discussed. mid-June to mid-August, and the collected spider ma- How to cite this article: Nekhaeva A.A. 2020. On terials were studied by S.V. Pokrovskiy. Most spiders the spider fauna (Arachnida: Aranei) of the Kanin Pen- were taken from the coast of Mezen Bay and only two insula and Kolguev Island, Nenets Autonomous Ok- species originated from the Kanin tundra [Pokrovskiy, rug, Russia // Arthropoda Selecta. Vol.29. No.3. P.387– 1904]; according to Sergienko [1986], the terrain from 398. doi: 10.15298/arthsel. 29.3.12 where spiders were collected is now considered the south forest-tundra. Since 1902, there have been no РЕЗЮМЕ. Приведены первые фаунистические further special studies of spiders in the region at hand. данные о пауках полуострова Канин и острова Кол- The same holds true for Kolguev Island, from where гуев, откуда ранее достоверно были известны толь- the only species, Hilaira nubigena Hull, 1911, was ко три вида. Приведены списки, включающие, со- recorded by Tanasevitch [2017a], despite regular visits ответственно, 75 и 25 видов, а также данные об их of field workers. биотопическом распределении. Всего с полуостро- The present paper presents results of the first spe- ва Канин и острова Колгуев в настоящее время cial survey of spider fauna of the Kanin Peninsula and известно 86 видов. Кратко обсуждается разнообра- Kolguev Island. Habitat preferences of the recorded зие и активность пауков в исследованных сообще- species are also included. ствах. Materials and methods Introduction Studied area The spider fauna of the tundra zone of Russia has The Kanin Peninsula is located in the western- been studied extremely unevenly [Marusik, Eskov, most part of the East European tundra and surrounded 2009]. The European sector seems to be the best stud- by waters of White and Barents Seas. It extends by 292 ied [Mazura, 2000; Mazura, Esyunin, 2001; Ta- km from the south to the north, and its total area is nasevitch, Koponen, 2007]. The southern tundra of the about 18 000 km2 [Sergienko, 1986]. Spiders were col- north-east of Russian Plain comprises at least 216 spe- lected from the vicinity of Shoina (Шойна) Village (c. cies [Tanasevitch, Koponen, 2007], which is compara- 67.878254°N, 44.150705°E) (Fig.1). The climate in ble to the spider diversity of the Siberian tundra ac- the region at hand is subarctic, with the annual mean air counting for about 230 species [Marusik, Eskov, 2009]. temperature reaching –1.6°C. The mean temperature of 388 A.A. Nekhaeva Fig. 1. Map (A) and a view of the studied area (B). The location of Shoina village is indicated with a circle. Рис. 1. Карта (A) и обзор изученного района (B). Расположение поселка Шойна отмечено кругом. February (the coldest month) is about –12.1°C, that of mens were collected, of which 2335 adults were iden- July (the warmest month) reaches +9.7°C [Sergienko, tified to species. 1986]. The vegetation season, i.e., the period of the The Kolguev Island is situated to the north-east mean daily temperatures exceeding +5°C, lasts about part of the Kanin Peninsula (Fig.1). Its total area is 106 days [Filippov, Shuvalov, 2006]. The permafrost about 5030 km2. The island is a bogged plain raised in has no continuous distribution, and its area occupies its central part. There is a cluster of low hills (25–50 m about 5–25% of the peninsula; it is absent from river a.s.l.) with flat tops and gentle slopes in the middle of valleys and warmed slopes [Sergienko, 1986, 2013]. the island. The average annual air temperature is about The vegetation of the Kanin Peninsula is typical of the –2.7 °C. The mean temperature in July reaches +7.6°C. tundra zone. In the study area, the bushy tundra (with The duration of vegetation season is about 72 days. Betula spp. or willow shrubs) and frost mound bogs The island is situated in the typical tundra subzone of predominate. Sand dunes with the typical vegetation the tundra belt [Makarova, 2012; Lavrinenko, Lavrinen- occur along seashores. Marshes occur at river mouths ko, 2018]. and can be temporarily flooded by seawater at high In 12–28 July 2019, the spider material was collect- tides [Sergienko, 1986; Filippov, Shuvalov, 2006]. The ed by pitfall traps from the central part of Kolguev landscapes near the village are strongly transformed by Island (c. 69.164304°N, 48.925823°E). The traps were human activities [Filippov, Shuvalov, 2006], with large similar to those used in the Kanin Peninsula but with a areas being covered with sands without vegetation. 2% formalin solution as a preservative. They were set Spiders were collected from different biotopes (Ta- up in five different habitats: the zonal tundra, a sedge ble 1), from 12 to 26 July, 2017. The following col- bog in a river valley, snow bed in the dry northern lecting methods were used: sifting moss and litter, moss-lichen slope, meadow in a dry southern slope, the pitfall trapping, sweeping, and hand collecting. The Dryas tundra. The material was sorted out and identi- pitfall traps were made of 200 ml plastic cups, 100 fied in the laboratory. The total material accounted for mm high with an opening of 65 mm in diameter, filled 368 trap-days; 131 spider specimens were collected, of in by one-third with water (in sea marshes and dunes) which 108 adults were identified to species. or 4–8% formalin solution (in other habitats). The traps on the seashore were checked every three days, Museum materials and those in other sites weekly. The material was In addition to the spiders collected in the field, sorted out during the fieldwork and preserved in 98% museum materials from the Kanin Peninsula and ethanol. Then it was transported to the laboratory and Kolguev Island deposited in the Zoological Museum of identified under a stereomicroscope. The total materi- the Moscow University (ZMMU; Moscow, Russia) were al accounted for 1290 trap-days; 2985 spider speci- examined (a total of three adult specimens). Spiders of the Kanin Peninsula and Kolguev Island 389 Table 1. Description of the studied habitat types in the vicinities of Shoina village, Kanin Peninsula. Таблица 1. Описание изученных местообитаний в окрестностях села Шойна, п-ов Канин. Habitat Dominant plant species Collecting method Sea marshes I–IV Carex subspathacea, Puccinellia phryganodes, Plantago sp. PT (380), HC (from lowest to upper level) Willow thicket Salix sp. PT (100), HC Sandy banks of streams Carex spp. PT (100), HC1 Sedge brakes on boggy Carex spp., Betula nana, Salix sp., green mosses PT (100), Sif places Sphagnous cushions Sphagnum sp. Sif Shrub tundra Salix sp., Betula ?czerepanovii Sif, Sw Crowberry tundra Empetrum hermaphroditum, Betula nana, Vaccinium vitis- PT (60) idaea, Arctous alpina, fruticose lichens, green mosses Birch thicket Betula ?czerepanovii, Salix sp., Geranium sp., Myosotis sp., PT (60), Sif, Sw Polygonatum sp., Equisetum sp., Trientalis sp. Sandy beaches, dunes Leymus arenarius PT (240), HC2 Zonal tundra (dwarf B. nana, Salix sp., Cassiope tetragona, Vaccinium myrtillus, PT (150), HC, Sif, shrub tundra) Geranium sp., Caltha sp., green mosses, Carex spp., Sw Sphagnum sp. Willow-birch shrub Salix sp., Vaccinium myrtillus, Empetrum hermaphroditum, Sif, Sw tundra Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Vaccinium uliginosum, B. nana, Chamaepericlymenum suecicum, Trientalis sp., Arctostaphylos alpina, Dicranum sp. Snow bed Empetrum hermaphroditum, Salix sp., green mosses PT (100) Abbreviations: HC — hand collecting, PT — pitfall traps, Sif — sifting moss and litter, Sw — sweeping. A number of trap-days for pitfalls is given in parenthesis. 1 — under snags and in sedge brakes; 2 — under stones and snags in dunes. The nomenclature follows WSC [2020]. All the sented below. Abbreviations used in the tables are as studied material will be deposited in the ZMMU. follows: B — sandy stream banks; BF — birch thick- ets; Bo — sedge bog; Car — sedge thickets in boggy Data analysis plots; Du — sandy beaches, dunes; DT — Dryas tun- To assess a degree of faunal similarity between dra; ImT — crowberry tundra; M – meadow; SB — different regions of north-eastern Europe, literature- snow bed; ShT — willow-birch shrubby tundra; SM — derived data on local spider faunas has been used [Ko- sea marshes (I–IV levels); Sp – Sphagnum cushions; ponen, 1984, with changes; Mazura, 2000, with chang- Wil — willow thicket; ZT — dwarf shrubby tundra es; Tanasevitch, Koponen, 2007; Tanasevitch, Nekhae- (zonal tundra).