Research Projects

The present study proposes an extensive survey on the diversity and distribution of ground-dwelling spiders along the elevation gradients of Meghalaya. The region is a part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, which has a diverse range of physiographic and ecoclimatic conditions. The current study focuses on ground-dwelling spiders, which are often regarded as the most diverse and numerically abundant group of predatory arthropods. Their high density, diversity, and ease of collection make them an effective environmental monitoring tool in almost all ecosystems. The true diversity and distribution of ground-dwelling spiders in the region is still unclear due to inadequate sampling. Therefore, extensive surveys and studies are required to discover and understand the actual diversity of such ground inhabiting spiders found in Meghalaya. The proposed study will be a pioneering work on the diversity, distribution, guild structure and altitudinal variation of ground-dwelling spiders in Meghalaya, which will serve as a foundation for future research in this area. This research project also aims to reduce the taxonomic ambiguity among the closely related taxa through molecular studies.