BIOTOPES AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF ARTHROPOD COMMUNITIES

In Krasnodar Territory, communities of plants, spiders, beetles, and ground beetles in different agrolanscape biotopes (arable field, field margin, and forest) were studied. The boundaries between the plant communities of these biotopes were clearly expressed. On the contrary, arthropod communities were not usually confined to the certain biotopes. The greater the mobility of arthropods, the less their connection with the biotope. The representatives of some species (especially, of beetles) were found in all the biotopes. They were often concentrated in different biotopes related to season and some other factors. Analysis of arthropod communities only within one biotope cannot give a real knowledge of the whole population. In studies of arthropods, one should study their interactions not only within the basic biotope, but also in adjacent ones.