The Role of Sexual Dimorphism and Tissue Selection in Ecotoxicological Studies Using the Riparian Spider Tetragnatha elongata

Beaubien, Gale B.; Olson, Connor I.; Otter, Ryan R.

doi:10.1007/s00128-019-02632-y

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Each tissue tested is represented by red-highlighted body parts and molts are uncolored δ 13 C and δ 15 N stable isotope signatures in laboratory and field experiments. In our laboratory study, spider legs and prosomas had similar isotopic values in both δ 13 C and δ 15 N, which agree with past studies measuring δ 13 C and δ 15 N values in field-collected spiders (Beaubien et al, 2019;Collier et al, 2002). In some situations, it may be unrealistic to remove only spider legs for SIA due to the size of the target family or species.…”

Section: Nonlethal Sampling As a Viable Methodssupporting

confidence: 90%

Greater than the sum of your parts: Nonlethal stable isotope sampling methods in spiders

et al. 2022

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As top consumers and generalist predators, spiders are ideal organisms to study food webs and complex ecological functions using stable isotopes. Most researchers use whole-body samples to analyze stable isotope ratios in spiders.Spiders can regrow lost legs and produce multiple molts during a life cycle, and nonlethal sampling utilizing legs and molts may provide a useful alternative to whole-body sampling especially in larger bodied or threatened species.Furthermore, removing spider abdomens and thus leftover prey in the gut contents may provide a more accurate isotopic value. We tested the hypothesis that the δ 15 N, δ 13 C, or δ 2 H isotopic values in spider legs are reliable proxies for spider prosomas, abdomens, or whole bodies. We used laboratory-reared largebodied spiders (Pterinochilus murinus) and field-collected Lycosidae to compare lethal and nonlethal tissue isotopic values. We found that nonlethal samples of spider legs and molts are acceptable alternatives to lethal wholebody samples to determine δ 13 C and δ 15 N stable isotope signatures. Nonlethal samples are not suitable proxies for whole-body samples to determine δ 2 H isotopic values. Using nonlethal leg or molts samples in stable isotope investigations of spiders will allow researchers to promote conservation efforts and study threatened species while ensuring accurate and repeatable results.

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Section: Nonlethal Sampling As a Viable Methodssupporting

confidence: 90%

Greater than the sum of your parts: Nonlethal stable isotope sampling methods in spiders

et al. 2022

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“…The potential effect of sex on contaminant concentrations in riparian spiders has only been examined in one study. Beaubien et al (2019) found no difference in Hg concentrations between male and female tetragnathid spiders. Additional studies involving other contaminants and riparian spider taxa, especially those with pronounced sexual dimorphism such as some genera in the family Araneidae (Elgar & Fahey, 1996; Ubick et al, 2017), are needed to further explore the role of sex in riparian spider contaminant concentrations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Factors in column 1 are defined and reviewed in the text and in Supporting Information, Table S3. 1, Anderson et al, 1973; 2, Maelfait and Hendrickx, 1998; 3, Torres and Johnson, 2001; 4, Du Laing et al, 2002; 5, Tojal et al, 2002; 6, Hendrickx et al, 2004; 7, Cristol et al, 2008; 8, Schipper et al, 2008; 9, Walters et al, 2008; 10, Zhang et al, 2009; 11, Walters et al, 2010; 12, Zhang et al, 2010; 13, Raikow et al, 2011; 14, Ramirez et al, 2011; 15, Wyman et al, 2011; 16, Edmonds et al, 2012; 17, Tsui et al, 2012; 18, Otter et al, 2013; 19, Tweedy et al, 2013; 20, Wang et al, 2013; 21, Marr et al, 2014; 22, Speir et al, 2014; 23, Bartrons et al, 2015; 24, Gann et al, 2015; 25, Kwon et al, 2015; 26, Ortiz Jr. et al, 2015; 27, Pennuto and Smith, 2015; 28, Alberts and Sullivan, 2016; 29, Chaves‐Ulloa et al, 2016; 30, Kim and Kim, 2016; 31, Laws et al, 2016; 32, Moy et al, 2016; 33, Sullivan et al, 2016; 34, Abeysinghe et al, 2017; 35, Hepp et al, 2017; 36, Kraus et al, 2017; 37, Tavshunsky et al, 2017; 38, Archer et al, 2018; 39, Howie et al, 2018; 40, Richmond et al, 2018; 41, Walters et al, 2018; 42, Beaubien et al, 2019; 43, Ortega‐Rodriguez et al, 2019; 44, Qiu et al, 2019; 45, Rodenhouse et al, 2019; 46, Beaubien et al, 2020; 47, Bergmann and Graça, 2020; 48, Gerson et al, 2020; 49, Koch et al, 2020; 50, Naslund et al, 2020; 51, Cetinić et al 2021; 52, Hannappel et al, 2021; 53, Kraus et al, 2021; 54, Ku et al, 2021; 55, Previšić et al, 2021.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Riparian Spiders as Sentinels of Persistent and Bioavailable Chemical Contaminants in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review

Chumchal

Beaubien

Drenner

et al. 2022

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Aquatic ecosystems around the world are contaminated with a wide range of anthropogenic chemicals, including metals and organic pollutants, that originate from point and nonpoint sources. Many of these chemical contaminants have complex environmental cycles, are persistent and bioavailable, can be incorporated into aquatic food webs, and pose a threat to the health of wildlife and humans. Identifying appropriate sentinels that reflect bioavailability is critical to assessing and managing aquatic ecosystems impacted by contaminants. The objective of the present study is to review research on riparian spiders as sentinels of persistent and bioavailable chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Our review of the literature on riparian spiders as sentinels suggests that significant progress has been made during the last two decades of research. We identified 55 published studies conducted around the world in which riparian spiders (primarily of the families Tetragnathidae, Araneidae, Lycosidae, and Pisauridae) were used as sentinels of chemical contamination of lotic, lentic, and estuarine systems. For several contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Hg, and Se, it is now clear that riparian spiders are appropriate sentinels. However, many contaminants and factors that could impact chemical concentrations in riparian spiders have not been well characterized. Further study of riparian spiders and their potential role as sentinels is critical because it would allow for development of national‐scale programs that utilize riparian spiders as sentinels to monitor chemical contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. A riparian spider sentinel program in the United States would be complementary to existing national sentinel programs, including those for fish and immature dragonflies. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:499–514. © 2021 SETAC

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“…For sites contaminated with MeHg, we suggest that tetragnathid tissue concentrations are preferable to other taxa because they not only provide a conservative estimate of risk but also may provide an additional line of evidence that, if necessary, could be used to characterize the effectiveness of future remediation efforts (e.g., Kraus et al 2017; Walters et al 2018). We do note that the utility of tetragnathids is contingent on their abundance, and their use may be complicated by biomass requirements necessary to achieve target method detection limits (Beaubien et al 2019). When tetragnathid‐specific composite samples cannot alone provide the biomass necessary to achieve target method detection limits, the integration of other larger spider taxa, like araneids, may be unavoidable.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At each stream reach, spiders were placed into taxon‐specific polypropylene tubes, placed in a cooler with dry ice, and transported to the lab where they were sorted into taxon‐specific composite samples ( n = 3/reach) of multiple animals for Hg analysis. Laboratory processing consisted of confirming spider taxonomy (see Beaubien et al 2019 for details on tetragnathid identification) and weighing each spider replicate to ensure that proper biomass was obtained for Hg analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Spider Exposure Pathway and the Potential Risk to Arachnivorous Birds

Beaubien

Olson

Todd

et al. 2020

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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There is growing concern over the health of North American birds, with evidence suggesting substantial population declines. Spiders are prominent dietary items for many bird species and mediate the transfer of contaminants to arachnivorous birds that consume them. Few studies have investigated the potential risk the spider exposure pathway poses to these birds because most studies have focused on piscivores. In the present study, we developed new chronic and acute As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Se, Zn, and MeHg spider-based avian wildlife values (SBAWVs) for multiple adult and nestling birds (primarily passerines) and then used the newly generated SBAWVs to characterize the risk to birds across 2 study areas: 1) 5 reaches in the southern Appalachian Mountains, an area with substantial mercury deposition but minimal anthropogenic impact, and 2) 4 reaches adjacent to the Emory River, an area impacted by the largest fly coal-ash spill in US history. We identified MeHg and Cu, Pb, Se, and Zn as contaminants of potential concern (COPC) at the Appalachian Mountain and Emory River study areas, respectively, based on dietary exposure of aquatic contaminants via riparian spiders. The identification of COPC at both study areas due to dietary spider exposure is notable not only because the spider exposure pathway has largely been uninvestigated at these sites but also because the aquatic systems in both areas have been studied extensively. Significant differences in MeHg concentrations were detected among spider taxa and suggest that the selection of spider taxa can impact risk characterization. These results indicate that the spider exposure pathway is important to consider when assessing potential risk, particularly for passerine birds.

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The Role of Sexual Dimorphism and Tissue Selection in Ecotoxicological Studies Using the Riparian Spider Tetragnatha elongata

Cited by 8 publications

References 18 publications

Greater than the sum of your parts: Nonlethal stable isotope sampling methods in spiders

Greater than the sum of your parts: Nonlethal stable isotope sampling methods in spiders

Use of Riparian Spiders as Sentinels of Persistent and Bioavailable Chemical Contaminants in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review

The Spider Exposure Pathway and the Potential Risk to Arachnivorous Birds

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