Anthropogenic disturbances cause many undesirable changes in our ecosystem that directly or indirectly affect the livelihood of people. In the present study, we investigated spider diversity and distribution in habitats with different degrees of anthropogenic disturbances in Gopalpur of Ganjam district, Odisha from November 2018 to January 2020. A total of 592 spider specimens belonging to 23 species were recorded. It was observed that the more the degree of anthropogenic disturbances, the lesser was the diversity of spider species. The spider population was negatively affected by the frequency of disturbances in their habitat. Ecological parameters such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and light intensity were changing at a higher rate in more disturbed areas, indicating differences, due to human impact. The study reveals that anthropogenic disturbances produce ecological changes that most of the spider species may not tolerate. Again, the distribution pattern of arboreal orb-web making spider species was greatly affected by the frequent disturbances whereas grounddwelling species were least affected. To retain spider diversity in any locality, there needs a management plan for incorporating some undisturbed wild vegetation patches both in rural and urban areas. This could include rules on how to keep that vegetation patch undisturbed and not been influenced by any household waste materials or drained water from any industry, factory, or crop field.

Keywords: Spider; Vegetation; Diversity; Frequency.