We report a checklist of spiders based on a survey made from August 2013 to July 2014 in Gujarat University Campus, an urban area located in the middle of Ahmadabad City, Gujarat State. A total of 77 species of spiders belonging to 53 genera and 20 families of spiders were recorded from the study area represented by 31.74% of the total 63 families reported from India. Salticidae was found to be the most dominant family with 18 species from 14 genera. Guild structure analysis revealed six feeding guilds, namely stalkers, orb-web builders, space-web builders, ambushers, foliage hunters and ground runners. Stalkers and orb-web builders were the most dominant feeding guilds representing 28.58% and 20.78% respectively among all studied guilds. Species Eilica tikaderi (Platnick, 1976) is reported for the first time from Gujarat with additional description and detailed genitalic illustrations.

Abstract:The last surviving population of the Indian Bustard (IB) of Gujarat State was found to be distributed in the coastal grasslands of the Abdasa and Mandvi talukas of Kachchh District. The major part of the present distribution range of IB falls in the Abdasa Taluka and a small portion of this range falls in the Mandvi Taluka of Kachchh District in Gujarat. Geographically, this distribution of the IB is located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Kachchh. The total area of this distribution range of the IB in Gujarat covers a total of 996.4km 2 area. The entire area of the distribution range is more or less flat as compared to the surrounding typical topography of Kachchh District. The area within the distribution range of IB is mainly composed of grassland followed by open flat land.

No abstract

District (Pandey et al. 2009;Munjpara et al. 2011).In order to develop effective conservation strategies for the long term survival of GIB, it is important to know its detailed habitat requirements. Determination of various habitats and their utility by the species was carried out to understand whether the grassland is sufficient enough for detailed management planning. The present study made a systematic effort to find out the availability of various habitat types and also habitat preference and utilization by the species. This data will be crucial for understanding the biological requirement of this species in its current distribution range and will be helpful in detailed planning of conservation and management strategies for long term survival of the species in Gujarat.

The Gulf of Kachchh is endowed with a variety of habitats and supports diverse groups of fauna, both invertebrates and vertebrates. The present study was carried out to study distribution of marine and coastal herpetofauna (Amphibians and Reptiles) from the Gulf of Kachchh (GoK). During the study a total of 28 species of herpetofauna were recorded from the GoK, of which, 3 were amphibians (only Anuran) and 25 were reptiles. Among the all recorded species, five species such as Green Sea Turtle, Olive Ridley, Yellow Sea Snake, Annulated Sea Snake and Gerard's Mud Snake were obligatory marine reptiles. In addition, three other species viz., Saw-scaled Viper, Fringed-toed Lizard and Jerdon's Snake eye were also recorded. These species are not obligatory marine but observed to be inhabited in the sea-affected habitats, such as Islands and coastal shoreline.