Spiders on sandstone rocks in Èeské Švýcarsko National Park

Vlastimil Rùžièka

Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences
Branišovská 31, 370 05 Èeské Budìjovice, Czech Republic

Abstract
Spiders on sun-exposed and shaded rock walls in Èeské Švýcarsko NP were collected using hanging board traps. A total of  174 spider specimens belonging to 39 species were collected. A half of species collected were found exclusively on sun-esposed rocks, a second half exclusively on shaded rocks. The assemblage of sun-exposed rocks is characterised by presence of species with usual or preferential occurrence in Thermophyticum and in very dry habitats (Xerolycosa nemoralis, Drassodes lapidosus, Zelotes puritanus, Zelotes petrensis, Aelurillus v‑insignitus, Zodarion germanicum, Episinus truncatus). The assemblage of shaded rocks is characterised by presence of species with usual or preferential occurrence in Mesophyticum and in semi-humid habitats (Nesticus cellulanus, Hahnia pusilla, Amaurobius fenestralis, Callobius claustrarius, Harpactea lepida, Cicurina cicur, Histopona torpida). 
	Lepthyphantes pulcher is an exclusive inhabitant of rocks. Zelotes puritanus occurs rare on rocks, rock margins and adjacent rock steppes and forest steppes. Records in Èeské Švýcarsko NP and Klíè Mt. in north Bohemia extends its distribution behind borders of Thermophyticum.
	Sandstone rocks are characterised by marked contrast between forested plateau and bare vertical rock wall. The edge with sporadic herb and shrub vegetation is very narrow, but is the case of sun-exposed rocks, it is able to harbour specific assemblage of spiders with numerous thermophilous species.

Introduction
Extensive underground spaces under collapsed rock blocks and deep gorges with extreme cold microclimate represent a dominant feature of sandstone rocks in Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area, northeastern Bohemia. Spiders in these sandstone rocks were intensively studied. Changing species structure  of spider assemblage on gradients from the top to the gorge bottom, and from the surface into underground were described. Rich population of Bathyphantes simillimus simillimus, a species with disjunct boreo-montane distribution area were found (Rùžièka 1992; Rùžièka & Kopecký 1994).
	All material on rock surface were up to now collected by hand picking. Rùžièka (2000) described a hanging board trap designed for authomatic collecting of invertebrates on vertical rock walls. These traps were used for colecting spiders on shaded and sun-exposed rocks in Èeské Švýcarsko National Park.

Methods
Localities
A. Shaded rock walls (both, covered by moss and bare) in Suchá Kamenice brook valley.
B. Sun-exposed rock walls and rocky slopes on border ridge north of Pravèická Brána gate.

Trapping invertebrates
The traps made of rigid plastic consist of a board (25x20 cm) and a can (13 cm high and 10.5 cm in diameter) inserted in the center of the board. The traps contained a mixture of 7% formaldehyde and 10% glycerol with a few drops of a surfactant. Each trap was hung from a hooked nail, a band of emery tape was stuck on the back edge of the trap and shaped to form a transit between the board and the rock surface. Four traps were installed on each locallity from October 1999 to October 2000.
Evaluating
We use for evaluation characteristics given by Buchar and Rùžièka (2002). Each species is characterised by humidity of habitats inhabited (in five classes): very dry, dry, semi-humid, humid, very humid. Each species is characterised by phytogeographic district inhabited: Thermophyticum, Mesophyticum, Oreophyticum. The basic values are printed in medium font, the markedly preferred values are printed in bold, and some marginal, but not negligible values, are in parentheses. 

Results
A total of  174 spider specimens belonging to 39 species were collected (Table 1). A half of species collected occur exclusively on sun-esposed rocks, a second half exclusively on shaded rocks. The assemblage of sun-exposed rocks is characterised by presence of species with usual or preferential occurrence in Thermophyticum and in very dry habitats, such as Xerolycosa nemoralis, Drassodes lapidosus, Zelotes puritanus, Zelotes petrensis, Aelurillus v‑insignitus, Zodarion germanicum, Episinus truncatus. The assemblage of shaded rocks is characterised by presence of species with usual or preferential occurrence in Mesophyticum and in semi-humid habitats, such as Nesticus cellulanus, Hahnia pusilla, Amaurobius fenestralis, Callobius claustrarius, Harpactea lepida, Cicurina cicur, Histopona torpida.
	Lepthyphantes pulcher is an exclusive inhabitant of rocks.
	Zelotes puritanus occurs rare on rocks, rock margins and adjacent rock steppes and forest steppes. This species was described as Zelotes kodaensis Miller & Buchar, 1977, based on records in Bohemian Karst. Records in Èeské Švýcarsko NP and Klíè Mt. in north Bohemia extends its distribution behind borders of Thermophyticum (Fig. 1).
	Sandstone rocks are characterised by marked contrast between forested plateau and bare vertical rock wall (Balatka & Sládek 1984). The edge with sporadic herb and shrub vegetation is very narrow, but is the case of sun-exposed rocks, is able to harbour specific assemblage of spiders with numerous thermophilous species.
	
References
Balatka B. & Sládek J. 1984: Typizace reliéfu kvádrových pískovcù èeské køídové pánve. The typology of the relief on block sandstones in the Bohemian Cretaceous basin. Rozpravy ÈSAV, Øada MPV 94 (6): 1 100.
Buchar J. & Rùžièka V. 2002: Catalogue of spiders of the Czech Republic. Peres, Praha, 351 pp.
Rùžièka V. 1992:  Current results of an arachnological survey of some sandstone rock sites in Bohemia (so‑called “rock cities”). Arachnol. Mitt.  3: 1 13.
Rùžièka V. 2000: Spiders  in  rocky habitats  in  Central  Bohemia J. Arachnol. 28: 217 222.
Rùžièka V. & Kopecký J. 1994: Spiders of pseudokarst caves in northeastern Bohemia. Boll. Acc. Gioenia Sci. Nat., 26 (345) [1993]: 299 309.

Table 1. A survey of material. Phytogeographic district: T -- Thermophyticum, M -- Mesophyticum, O -- Oreophyticum. Humidity: vd --very dry, d -- dry, s-h -- semi-humid, h -- humid, vh -- very humid. The basic values are printed in medium font, the markedly preferred values are printed in bold, and some marginal, but not negligible values, are in parentheses (for details see Buchar & Rùžièka 2002).  / /juv.

Phyto		Humidity		Species								A	    B	

T M O		vd d s-h		Xerolycosa nemoralis (Westring, 1861)			30/5		-
T M			vd d			Drassodes lapidosus (Walckenaer, 1802)		16/2		-
T (M)		vd			Zelotes puritanus Chamberlin, 1922			11/5		-
M			d			Alopecosa aculeata (Clerck, 1757)				7/1		-
T M			vd d s-h		Zelotes petrensis (C. L. Koch, 1839)			5/2		-
M O			d s-h h		Alopecosa taeniata (C. L. Koch, 1835)			1/3		-
T M (O)	vd d s-h h		Trochosa terricola Thorell, 1856				3/1		1/-
T M			vd d			Aelurillus v‑insignitus (Clerck, 1757)			3/-		-
T M			vd d			Zodarion germanicum (C. L. Koch, 1837)		1/1/1		-
T				vd d			Episinus truncatus Latreille, 1809				2/-		-
T M (O) 	s-h h			Bathyphantes gracilis (Blackwall, 1841)			1/-		-
M			vd d			Crustulina guttata (Wider, 1834)				-/1		-
T M O		vd d (h vh)	Haplodrassus signifer (C. L. Koch, 1839)		1/-		-
M			d s-h			Haplodrassus umbratilis (L. Koch, 1866)		1/-		-
M O			s-h			Lepthyphantes pulcher (Kulczyñski, 1881)		-/1		-
(T) M (O) 	s-h			Philodromus collinus C. L. Koch, 1835			1/-		-
(T) M		vd (d s-h)		Stemonyphantes lineatus (Linné, 1758)			1/-		-
T M			d s-h			Walckenaeria furcillata (Menge, 1869)			-/1		-
(T) M		s s-h			Zora nemoralis (Blackwall, 1861)				1/-		-
M			h vh			Nesticus cellulanus (Clerck, 1757)				-		1/4/12
M				vd d s-h h		Hahnia pusilla C. L. Koch, 1841				-		7/-
M O			(d) s-h h		Amaurobius fenestralis (Ström, 1768)			-		3/-/2
M O			d s-h h		Callobius claustrarius (Hahn, 1833)			-		5/-
M (O)		s-h			Harpactea lepida (C. L. Koch, 1838)			-		3/2
M O			s-h			Coelotes inermis (L. Koch, 1855)				-		2/1
M O			s-h h			Lepthyphantes alacris (Blackwall, 1853)		-		1/2
(T) M		(d) s-h h		Cicurina cicur (Fabricius, 1793)				-		-/2
(T) M (O)	s-h			Diplocephalus picinus (Blackwall, 1841)		-		2/-
M O			d s-h h		Histopona torpida (C. L. Koch, 1834)			-		2/-
T M			d s-h			Lepthyphantes flavipes (Blackwall, 1854)		-		1/1
(T) M O	s-h h			Micrargus herbigradus (Blackwall, 1854)		-		1/1
(T) M		h vh			Tetragnatha montana Simon, 1874			-		-/2
(T) M O	d s-h h		Coelotes terrestris (Wider, 1834)				-		-/1
M O			s-h h			Cybaeus angustiarum L. Koch, 1868			-		-/1
M O			s-h			Lepthyphantes tenebricola (Wider, 1834)		-		1/-
(T) M		d s-h			Linyphia hortensis Sundevall, 1830			-		1/-
M O			d s-h			Macrargus rufus (Wider, 1834)				-		-/1
T M O		h			Metellina merianae (Scopoli, 1763)			-		1/-
T M O		(vd) sh (vh)	Walckenaeria atrotibialis (O. P.-Cambridge, 1878)	-		1/-

Fig. 1. Distribution of Zelotes puritanus in Czech Republic.