This thesis focuses ontopic regarding: „Tropical pavilions in zoological gardens as living space for nontargeted species (spiders) – complex study” is focused on generic diversity of original and non–native species (mostly spiders) in tropical and subtropical pavilions of zoological gardens in Brno and Prague. The final goal of this thesis is to gather information in local pavilions and terrariums and determinating generic diversity especially in non–native species of spiders. Collecting samples was done by land–falling traps and on a few occasions by hand. Collected samples of invertebrates species were then determinated. Main goal was to determinate, which local rare species of local and mostly non–native species occur in zoological gardens. After the determination was done the most occured species were Parasteatoda tepidariorum (Koch, 1841) in Brno ZOO and Hasarius adansoni (Audouin, 1826) in Prague ZOO. The most interesting findings were Heteroonops spinimanus (Simon, 1892), Theotima minutissima (Petrunkevitch, 1929) a Prodidomidae Simon family, 1884, which occurence were in Czech Republic not yet recorded. Furthermore were found few species which are in Czech Republic rare, primarily Nesticodes rufipes (Lucas, 1846).

In the thesis was investigated the influence and importance of active management in lowland forests on epigeic spider fauna. The research was carried out on 15 randomly chosen research plots in the NPR Děvín (The Pálava Protected Landscape Area). Together, the research took place on 15 plots with 3 tretaments on each plot: heavy thinning, moderate thinning, control plots (no management). The spiders were collected using pitfall traps when three pitfall traps in each transect were placed five meters between each other across the central axis of each research plot. The results show that locatity is characteric by high abundance and species richness of spiders. Overall, 3683 adult spiders belonging to 21 families, 70 genera and 116 species were collected and determined, including high presence of rare and endangered species. The species richness and number of conservation bioindicators had the highest values on plots where heavy thinning was applied. The abundance of spiders had the highest values in a moderate thinning, mainly due to dominant species Pardosa lugubris (Walckenaer, 1802) and Trochosa terricola (Thorell, 1856). Functional diversity was significantly higher in open stands, however, the individual functional features (e.g. spider hunting strategies) were equally dispersed in all types of forest stands. The evenness of these functional groups depend on the coverage and density of vegetation. The research show that the most appropriate for biodiversity conservation in lowland forest reserves is to return to active management, but not across the whole area. It is necessary to preserve the mosaicity of lowland oak forests, it means preserve heterogeneity of microhabitats in the stand because different species and ecological groups of spiders prefer different ecological conditions. This can support the overall biodiversity of lowland forest ecosystems. In comparison with other studies, these conclusions are applicable to other groups of organisms occurring in the lowland forests of the Czech Republic.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of canopy openness and associated light conditions on epigeal spider assemblages in abandoned coppice forests in order to develop conservation recommendations for forest management in lowland woodlands. In particular, I studied the effect of canopy openness gradient on species richness, abundance, functional diversity, community composition, conservation value, and degree of rareness of spiders. There was established transects reflecting the canopy openness gradient in each of the eight forest stand. A total number of 90 spider species, including high proportions of xeric specialist and red-listed threatened species. The peaks of conservation indicators, as well as spider community abundance, were shifted toward more open canopies . On the other hand, functional diversity peaked at more closed canopies followed by a rapid decrease with increasing canopy openness. Species richness was highest in the middle of the canopy openness gradient, suggesting an ecotone effect. Ordinations revealed the rapid species turnover along canopy openness gradient with presence of most conservationally important species in sparse and open conditions. The results show that the various components of biodiversity peaked at different levels of canopy openness. Therefore, the restoration and suitable management of such conditions (e.g. conservation thinning, coppice management) will retain important diversification of habitats in lowland oak forests. According to these results, even small-scale activities supporting these conditions could be suitable conservation tools to slow down the general decline of woodland biodiversity.

In this thesis, the succession of spider assemblages in five limestone quarries of different ages in Bohemian Karst has been studied. The main goal of this paper was studying changes of spider assemblages along successional gradient. Furthermore, different environmental factors affecting spider communities and also assemblages of spider communites in different terraces of the quarry have been studied. Standardized methods (pitfall traps, hanging desk traps, shifting leaf litter, sweeping of herb vegetation, and beating shrubs) have been used for recording the highest possible richness of spiders. The results showed that position of the terraces and the age of the quarry do not affect species richness and density. Species density of epigeic spiders increased significantly with number of the plant species. The results showed that spiders do not have their own succession, but they are following vegetational succession. The environmental factors which affect species composition of spiders from the pitfall traps are positon of terraces, shading and moss cover. Although the age of the quarry was insignificant for spiders from pitfall traps, every quarry was inhabited by different spider communities. Shrubs and tree-dwelling spiders showed correlations with the age of the quarry. Data recorded from...

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the species richness and abundance of epigeic arthropods (spiders, ground beetles, centipedes, millipedes, woodlice) in relation to different age structure and types of forest management. The arthropods were sampled from four different age classes (clearings, young, middle-aged and old forest stands), while within two of them (clearings and old forest stands) the influence of management was also evaluated. According to comparison of stages of forest succession most species were found in clearings without any mechanical soil preparation. On the other hand younger age classes hosted the least amount of arthropod species. The highest abundances of species were detected within young forest stands whereas the lowest in middle-aged stands. The results of forest management impacts indicate that soil milling is not suitable for any investigated group of organisms. The response to management of the old stands varied for different arthropod groups. The results reveal high importance of diversified silviculture in form of various age classes, a regulation is also necessary to restrict large area milling of clearings and for both managed and unmanaged forest stands the continuity must be maintained.

Orb-weavers (Araneidae) are a diversified spider family comprising more than 3,100 species in more than 170 genera. Together with 13 other families, they con- stitute to superfamily Araneoidea. The presented thesis focuses on karyotype evo- lution of Araneidae, including its comparison with a related family Tetragnathidae. The results obtained from 19 araneid and four tetragnathid species confirm previ- ously postulated hypothesis that the ancestral karyotype of Araneoidea (including Araneidae) consists of 24 acrocentric chromosomes in males, including two acro- centric X chromosomes of system X1X20. However, there is a tendency of 2n decrease in some araneids due to centric fusions. In these cases, centric fusions affected most autosomes (and sometimes gonosomes as well); number of chromosome pairs de- creased from 11 to six. Three independent reduction events were detected in this thesis. Furthermore, pattern of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) was studied in this thesis using fluorescent in situ hybridization, since data on evolution of this marker are scarce in spiders. Striking variability in NORs number was discovered, ranging from one to 13 loci. Remarkably, multiple centric fusions were always ac- companied by considerable increase of NORs number. In araneids and tetragnathids possessing...

The introductory part of this thesis sums up the state of knowledge on aposematism and mimicry, the effect of aposematic and mimetic signals on spider predators, and cases when spiders do not receive but send such signals. Attachments of the thesis include four original manuscripts. In the first study, we presented jumping spiders (Evarcha arcuata, Salticidae) with different colour forms (red-and-black, yellow-and-black, white-and-black) of the firebug (Pyrrhocoris apterus, Pyrrhocoridae). Our goal was to compare reactions of the spiders to various intensity of aposematic signalization, expecting red-and-black coloration to have the strongest effect. Aversive learning of all colour forms was equally effective, but generalization of the learned avoidance to other colour forms was more effective after switch from less (white-and-black, yellow-and-black) to more (red-and-black) conspicuously coloured prey. When tested the next day, avoidance of the white-and-black prey got mostly forgotten. In the second study, we assessed little studied sensitivity of spiders to smells of unpalatable prey. After jumping spiders learned to avoid firebugs, most of them avoided the firebug smell, showing their sensitivity not only to optical, but also to chemical part of signalization of the unpalatable prey. In the...

The purpose for using pesticides is to kill organisms that cause damage (so-called pests) on various crops and thus prevent possible crop losses. Their side effect is a negative impact on non-target organisms. The presented diploma thesis is focused on the effect of neonicotinoids on invertebrates particularly on spiders. Its main goal was to document their influence on behavioral parameters influencing dispersal abilities such as locomotion and tendency to spread by wind (so-called ballooning). The diploma thesis compares the influence of neonicotinoids on model species, Pardosa lugubris (Walckenaer, 1802) and Phylloneta impressa (L. Koch, 1881) with different modes of prey hunting and compares the influence on adult and nymphal stages. Pesticides Actara® 25 WG, Biscaya® 240 OD, Confidor® 200 OD and Mospilan® 20 SP were applied to the spiders under laboratory conditions and their effect was tested at different concentrations and different methods of application. The biggest impact on spiders had Confidor. It clearly had the most significant negative effect on mobility and a tendency to spider wind propagation. The lethal effects were caused by neonicotinoids in nymphal individuals Pardosa lugubris, especially Confidor (even 100% mortality for tarsal application). During an experiment studying the...

Orb-weavers (Araneidae) are a diversified spider family comprising more than 3,100 species in more than 170 genera. Together with 13 other families, they con- stitute to superfamily Araneoidea. The presented thesis focuses on karyotype evo- lution of Araneidae, including its comparison with a related family Tetragnathidae. The results obtained from 19 araneid and four tetragnathid species confirm previ- ously postulated hypothesis that the ancestral karyotype of Araneoidea (including Araneidae) consists of 24 acrocentric chromosomes in males, including two acro- centric X chromosomes of system X1X20. However, there is a tendency of 2n decrease in some araneids due to centric fusions. In these cases, centric fusions affected most autosomes (and sometimes gonosomes as well); number of chromosome pairs de- creased from 11 to six. Three independent reduction events were detected in this thesis. Furthermore, pattern of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) was studied in this thesis using fluorescent in situ hybridization, since data on evolution of this marker are scarce in spiders. Striking variability in NORs number was discovered, ranging from one to 13 loci. Remarkably, multiple centric fusions were always ac- companied by considerable increase of NORs number. In araneids and tetragnathids possessing...

In the last decades, there has been a growing interest in studying particular those arthropods who have an important role in agroecosystems. For example, they are natural enemies of pests and therefore they are considered to be beneficial organisms. However, these beneficial arthropods may be negatively affected by the application of chemicals under the management of agroecosystems and their potential to inhibit pests can be significantly reduced. Such organisms certainly include spiders which occure in abundant numbers practically in all types of terrestrial habitats including agricultural ecosystems where they have a role of very important predators. Therefore, the thesis focused on current issues of pesticides, especially from the view of their negative effects on behavioral modification of beneficial invertebrate organisms in agricultural crops. The theoretical part is devoted to a brief characteristics of pesticides, their sublethal effects on non-target organisms and the importance of spiders as natural regulators of pests in agroecosystems. The practical part describes the experiment whereconventionally used agrochemicals were tested the influence of the herbicide and desiccant Basta 15, the Arrest preparation and their combination (mixture Basta 15 + Arrest) on spiders genus Pardosa. I focused on the side effects of these solutions, specifically on the modification of predatory behavior and on the mortality of spiders. It has been shown that agrochemicals affect the predation successfulness of spiders. From the short term and the long term point of view, it has been shown that spiders treated with the tested preparations killed less prey than the individuals in the control group which were treated only with distilled water. The dependence of mortality and the number of killed prey on the size and sex has not been proved. Preparations Basta 15 and the mixture caused significantly higher mortality of spiders. The Arrest preparation did not increase the mortality.