Life history of tundra-dwelling wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) from the Yukon Territory, Canada

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 714-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Bowden ◽  
C.M. Buddle
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
History Of

We studied populations of three tundra-dwelling wolf spider (Lycosidae) species to determine reproductive trait relationships and developmental timing in the Arctic. We collected 451 Pardosa lapponica (Thorell, 1872), 176 Pardosa sodalis Holm, 1970, and 117 Pardosa moesta Banks, 1892 during summer 2008. We used log-likelihood ratio tests and multiple linear regressions to determine the best predictors of fecundity and relative reproductive effort. Female body size best explained the variation in fecundity and body condition was the best predictor for relative reproductive effort. We tested for a trade-off between the allocation of resources to individual eggs and the number of eggs produced (fecundity) within each species using linear regression. There was variation in detectable egg size and number trade-offs among sites and these may be related to local variation in resource allocation linked to density-related biotic or abiotic factors. These findings contribute to knowledge about the fitness of arctic wolf spiders in the region of study and are particularly relevant in light of the effects that climate changes are predicted to have on the arctic fauna.

scholarly journals Spiders by Night: An Outdoor Investigation Integrating Next Generation Science Standards

2019 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 561-567
Author(s):  
Kathryn S. Craven ◽  
Alex Collier ◽  
Jay Y. S. Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Wolf Spider ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Next Generation Science Standards ◽  
Laboratory Instruction ◽  
Next Generation ◽  
Science Standards ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
History Of

Field investigations represent an excellent opportunity to integrate the Next Generation Science Standards to complement and enhance both classroom and laboratory instruction. This inquiry-based exercise is designed to introduce students to the basic anatomy, ecology, and natural history of a common backyard denizen, the wolf spider (Lycosidae). Students are charged with developing one or more testable hypotheses regarding wolf spiders in their own backyards. Wolf spiders are an ideal subject for field investigation because their secondary eyes possess a highly reflective layer called the tapetum lucidum. At night, this layer produces an unmistakable “eyeshine” when viewed with the beam of a flashlight. Playing the role of students, we tested the hypothesis that wolf spiders should occur at higher density in an undeveloped field than in a typical backyard. To test this, we utilized random quadrat sampling in both habitats using flashlights to detect nocturnal eyeshine. Students obtaining similar results would likely have concluded that wolf spiders were more abundant in natural habitats.

scholarly journals Earlier springs enable High-Arctic wolf spiders to produce a second clutch

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toke T. Høye ◽  
Jean-Claude Kresse ◽  
Amanda M. Koltz ◽  
Joseph J. Bowden
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Carapace Width ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Second Clutch

ABSTRACTSpiders at southern latitudes commonly produce multiple clutches, but this has not been observed at high latitudes where activity seasons are much shorter. Yet the timing of snowmelt is advancing in the Arctic, and may allow some species to produce an additional clutch. To determine if this is already happening, we used specimens of the wolf spider Pardosa glacialis caught by pitfall traps from the long-term (1996-2014) monitoring program at Zackenberg, Northeast Greenland. We dissected individual egg sacs and counted the number of eggs and partially developed juveniles, and measured carapace width of the mothers. Upon discovery of a bimodal frequency distribution of clutch sizes, as is typical for wolf spiders at lower latitudes producing a second clutch, we assigned egg sacs to being a first or second clutch depending on clutch size. We tested whether the median capture date differed among first and second clutches, whether clutch size was correlated to female size, and whether the proportion of second clutches produced within a season was related to climate. We found that assigned second clutches appeared significantly later in the season than first clutches. In years with earlier snowmelt, first clutches occurred earlier and the proportion of second clutches produced was larger. This result, likely a result of female spiders producing first clutches earlier in those years, which allowed time for another clutch. Clutch size for first clutches was correlated to female size, while this was not the case for second clutches. Our results provide the first evidence for Arctic invertebrates producing additional clutches in response to warming. This could be a common but overlooked phenomenon due to the challenges associated with long-term collection of life history data in the Arctic. Moreover, given that wolf spiders are a widely distributed, important tundra predator, we may expect to see population and food web consequences of their increased reproductive rates.

scholarly journals Earlier springs enable high-Arctic wolf spiders to produce a second clutch

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1929) ◽  
pp. 20200982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toke T. Høye ◽  
Jean-Claude Kresse ◽  
Amanda M. Koltz ◽  
Joseph J. Bowden
Keyword(s):  
Clutch Size ◽  
Carapace Width ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Reproductive Rates ◽  
Second Clutch

Spiders at southern latitudes commonly produce multiple clutches, but this has not been observed at high latitudes where activity seasons are much shorter. Yet the timing of snowmelt is advancing in the Arctic, which may allow some species to produce an additional clutch. To determine if this is already happening, we used specimens of the wolf spider Pardosa glacialis caught by pitfall traps from the long-term (1996–2014) monitoring programme at Zackenberg, NE Greenland. We dissected individual egg sacs and counted the number of eggs and partially developed juveniles, and measured carapace width of the mothers. Upon the discovery of a bimodal frequency distribution of clutch sizes, as is typical for wolf spiders at lower latitudes producing a second clutch, we assigned egg sacs to being a first or second clutch depending on clutch size. We tested whether the median capture date differed among first and second clutches, whether clutch size was correlated to female size, and whether the proportion of second clutches produced within a season was related to climate. We found that assigned second clutches appeared significantly later in the season than first clutches. In years with earlier snowmelt, first clutches occurred earlier and the proportion of second clutches produced was larger. Likely, females produce their first clutch earlier in those years which allow them time to produce another clutch. Clutch size for first clutches was correlated to female size, while this was not the case for second clutches. Our results provide the first evidence for Arctic invertebrates producing additional clutches in response to warming. This could be a common but overlooked phenomenon due to the challenges associated with long-term collection of life-history data in the Arctic. Moreover, given that wolf spiders are a widely distributed, important tundra predator, we may expect to see population and food web consequences of their increased reproductive rates.

scholarly journals Warming reverses top-down effects of predators on belowground ecosystem function in Arctic tundra

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (32) ◽  
pp. E7541-E7549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda M. Koltz ◽  
Aimée T. Classen ◽  
Justin P. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Ambient Temperatures

Predators can disproportionately impact the structure and function of ecosystems relative to their biomass. These effects may be exacerbated under warming in ecosystems like the Arctic, where the number and diversity of predators are low and small shifts in community interactions can alter carbon cycle feedbacks. Here, we show that warming alters the effects of wolf spiders, a dominant tundra predator, on belowground litter decomposition. Specifically, while high densities of wolf spiders result in faster litter decomposition under ambient temperatures, they result, instead, in slower decomposition under warming. Higher spider densities are also associated with elevated levels of available soil nitrogen, potentially benefiting plant production. Changes in decomposition rates under increased wolf spider densities are accompanied by trends toward fewer fungivorous Collembola under ambient temperatures and more Collembola under warming, suggesting that Collembola mediate the indirect effects of wolf spiders on decomposition. The unexpected reversal of wolf spider effects on Collembola and decomposition suggest that in some cases, warming does not simply alter the strength of top-down effects but, instead, induces a different trophic cascade altogether. Our results indicate that climate change-induced effects on predators can cascade through other trophic levels, alter critical ecosystem functions, and potentially lead to climate feedbacks with important global implications. Moreover, given the expected increase in wolf spider densities with climate change, our findings suggest that the observed cascading effects of this common predator on detrital processes could potentially buffer concurrent changes in decomposition rates.

Field studies of growth, reproduction, and mortality in the burrowing wolf spider Geolycosa domifex (Hancock)

1978 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 2037-2049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. McQueen
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Wolf Spiders ◽  
Original Cohort ◽  
The Third ◽  
History Of

A population of burrowing wolf spiders (Geolycosa domifex (Hancock)) was studied near Toronto, Canada, from 1974 to 1977. By following the life history of individuals in marked burrows, it was found that females produce one brood when they are 3 years old. Juveniles leave their mothers during July and August, after which they search for suitable burrow sites, establish burrows, and overwinter. During this period approximately 85% of the juveniles die and the average burrow diameter increases from 1 mm in August to 2–3 mm in October. In the second summer approximately 9% of the original cohort die and the average burrow diameter is 7 mm when the remaining individuals overwinter. In the third summer 4–5% of the original cohort die and burrow diameters average 13 mm when the remaining individuals overwinter. In the fourth summer the remaining 1 or 2% of the original cohort reproduce and more than 99% of these are killed by acrocerid flies (Pterodontia flavipes Grey) and pompilid wasps (Anoplius relativus (Fox)). Because < 0.008% of the original cohort survive to reproduce in their 4th year of life, three separate cohorts occupy the same habitat with little (< 1%) gene flow between them.

A Well-Ordered Thing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Gordin
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
History Of Science ◽  
Periodic Table ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Classic Work ◽  
Hot Air ◽  
History Of ◽  
First Time

Dmitrii Mendeleev (1834–1907) is a name we recognize, but perhaps only as the creator of the periodic table of elements. Generally, little else has been known about him. This book is an authoritative biography of Mendeleev that draws a multifaceted portrait of his life for the first time. As the book reveals, Mendeleev was not only a luminary in the history of science, he was also an astonishingly wide-ranging political and cultural figure. From his attack on Spiritualism to his failed voyage to the Arctic and his near-mythical hot-air balloon trip, this is the story of an extraordinary maverick. The ideals that shaped his work outside science also led Mendeleev to order the elements and, eventually, to engineer one of the most fascinating scientific developments of the nineteenth century. This book is a classic work that tells the story of one of the world's most important minds.

scholarly journals Holocene polynya dynamics and their interaction with oceanic heat transport in northernmost Baffin Bay

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Jackson ◽  
Anna Bang Kvorning ◽  
Audrey Limoges ◽  
Eleanor Georgiadis ◽  
Steffen M. Olsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Atlantic Water ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
The North ◽  
North Water ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ocean Conditions

AbstractBaffin Bay hosts the largest and most productive of the Arctic polynyas: the North Water (NOW). Despite its significance and active role in water mass formation, the history of the NOW beyond the observational era remains poorly known. We reconcile the previously unassessed relationship between long-term NOW dynamics and ocean conditions by applying a multiproxy approach to two marine sediment cores from the region that, together, span the Holocene. Declining influence of Atlantic Water in the NOW is coeval with regional records that indicate the inception of a strong and recurrent polynya from ~ 4400 yrs BP, in line with Neoglacial cooling. During warmer Holocene intervals such as the Roman Warm Period, a weaker NOW is evident, and its reduced capacity to influence bottom ocean conditions facilitated northward penetration of Atlantic Water. Future warming in the Arctic may have negative consequences for this vital biological oasis, with the potential knock-on effect of warm water penetration further north and intensified melt of the marine-terminating glaciers that flank the coast of northwest Greenland.

scholarly journals XIX.—The Bone-Cave in the Valley of Allt nan Uamh (Burn of the Caves), near Inchnadamff, Assynt, Sutherlandshire

1918 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 327-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. N. Peach ◽  
J. Horne ◽  
E. T. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Characteristic Feature ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Early History ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Geological History ◽  
Collateral Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Glacial Time

A characteristic feature of the plateau of Cambrian Limestone in the neighbourhood of Inchnadamff is the occurrence in it of swallow-holes, caves, and subterranean channels which are intimately associated with the geological history of the region. The valley of Allt nan Uamh (Burn of the Caves), locally known as the Coldstream Burn, furnishes striking examples of these phenomena. One of the caves in this valley yielded an interesting succession of deposits, from which were collected abundant remains of mammals and birds. The discovery of bones of the Northern Lynx, the Arctic Lemming, and the Northern Vole among these relics, and the collateral evidence of the materials forming some of these layers, seem to link the early history of this bone-cave with late glacial time, or at least with a period before the final disappearance of local glaciers in that region.

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