In my master's thesis, I deal with reproduction of central European wolf spiders of the genus Alopecosa. Here I present patterns and duration of courtship behaviour and copulation of 15 members of the genus Alopecosa. Such information were never published before. I recognized 17 courtship elements, six of them are described here for the first time. Duration of copulation, number of palpal insertions and number of hematodochal expansions of 15 species were examined. The obtained data were analyzed, courtship and copulations among species and species groups are discussed. Courtship behaviour of two sibling species, A. striatipes and A. mariae, is compared, as well as differences in reproduction of Czech and Italian populations of A. accentuata. Based on courtship behaviour, I propose placing Alopecosa psammophila in a striatipes group. Stridulatory apparatus on male pedipalps was not detected, however, some pegs on vetral side of the abdomen in males of Alopecosa pinteroum were found. These pegs could serve as a source of vibratory signals. The thesis provides some new remarks on ecology of members of the genus Alopecosa and contains faunistical information, including those on the recent occurrence of some of the rarest Czech spiders.

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Current knowledge of the spinning apparatus comes namely from studies on orb web spiders and their relatives, whereas that of wolf spiders were more or less neglected. Therefore, developmental changes of the spinning apparatus of four wolf spiders were studied throughout their life cycles. Each of these lycosids possesses stenochronous life cycle with similar number of instars (7-10) but of different length (1-3 years). There is only one period of reproduction in spring/summer in all four species. Sperms are being formed just after the final moult; diplotene in some species is peculiar. The courtship behaviour reflects the microhabitat occupied by the concrete spider species; the copulations are species specific. Ontogeny of the spinning apparatus of developing spiderlings was observed: The spinning apparatus initiate its function in the first instar. Secondary ampullate, all piriform and all but four aciniform glands are tartipore-accommodated; they do not moult in situ. The tartipores, vestigial structures corresponding to spigots of the previous instar, appear on the spinning field starting with the second instar. Tartipore-accommodated glands play roles also during proecdysis and their evolution corresponds with the way how do the spiders secure themselves when moulting. Hence, the not yet...

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M. Tech. Environmental Management. / Aims to investigate the impacts of Montane grassland management practices, particularly through grazing intensity and burning frequency, on ground living spider assemblage structure.More specific aims include:to note any relationship between particular spider species to specific forms of habitat management ; to note the loss of particular species at detected thresholds in management practices ; and to model spider assemblage structure based on grassland management.