Materials onstudying the structure of terrestrial arthropod communities inhabiting the foothills of south-eastern slopes of the Greater Caucasus

The article presents the data on taxonomic composition and ecological structure of arthropod communities from semiarid cenoses in the low-mountainous part of South-Eastern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. The features of distribution of arthropods in areas with different temperature conditions, soil type and humidity, microrelief, and vegetation cover are considered. The study established the ratio of trophic groups of arthropods on the compared areas that differ in feeding conditions, soil structure and humidity, terrain, morphological and behavioral characteristics of the studied phylum. It wasfound that the taxonomic composition of semiarid communities is mainly formed due to arthropods having similar biotopic confinement. The quality and conditions of the habitat have greater influence on the quantitative ratio of the main ecological groups of arthropods than on the taxonomic composition of the community as a whole.