Co-existence of Four Orb Weaving Spiders in the Rice Ecosystem

Four orb weaving spider species i.e., Argiope trifasciata (Forsskal, 1775), Neoscona theisi (Walckenaer, 1841) of family Araneidae and Leucauge decorata (Blackwall, 1864), Tetragnatha javana (Thorell, 1890) of family Tetragnathidae co-exist in the rice agro-ecosystem of Punjab, Pakistan. In the present study we investigated how four species segregate the available resources among themselves to reduce the competition and to make their co-existence possible. The studied species differed significantly in their web architecture and body size. All studied species showed low overall niche overlap values. The four orb weaving species also differed in the frequency with which they captured the different types of prey and prey size. The results of the present study suggested that differences in the selection of prey according to their own body size and construction of webs at different heights (spatial segregation) minimize competition and promote co-existence of studied species in sympatry.