Department of Geology, Paleontological Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2011 Mar 25;6(3):e17731. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017731.
Most spiders use venom to paralyze their prey and are commonly feared for their potential to cause injury to humans. In North America, one species in particular, Loxosceles reclusa (brown recluse spider, Sicariidae), causes the majority of necrotic wounds induced by the Araneae. However, its distributional limitations are poorly understood and, as a result, medical professionals routinely misdiagnose brown recluse bites outside endemic areas, confusing putative spider bites for other serious conditions. To address the issue of brown recluse distribution, we employ ecological niche modeling to investigate the present and future distributional potential of this species. We delineate range boundaries and demonstrate that under future climate change scenarios, the spider's distribution may expand northward, invading previously unaffected regions of the USA. At present, the spider's range is centered in the USA, from Kansas east to Kentucky and from southern Iowa south to Louisiana. Newly influenced areas may include parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. These results illustrate a potential negative consequence of climate change on humans and will aid medical professionals in proper bite identification/treatment, potentially reducing bite misdiagnoses.
大多数蜘蛛使用毒液来麻痹猎物，并且由于它们有可能对人类造成伤害，所以通常被人们所惧怕。在北美洲，有一种特别的蜘蛛，Loxosceles reclusa（棕色遁蛛，属于逍遥蛛科），引起了大多数由蛛形纲动物引起的坏死性伤口。然而，它的分布范围却知之甚少，因此，医疗专业人员在非流行地区经常错误诊断棕色遁蛛咬伤，将疑似蜘蛛咬伤与其他严重疾病混淆。为了解决棕色遁蛛的分布问题，我们采用生态位模型来研究该物种目前和未来的分布潜力。我们划定了范围边界，并证明在未来的气候变化情景下，这种蜘蛛的分布可能会向北扩展，入侵美国以前未受影响的地区。目前，这种蜘蛛的分布范围集中在美国，从堪萨斯州东部到肯塔基州，从爱荷华州南部到路易斯安那州。可能受影响的新地区包括内布拉斯加州、明尼苏达州、威斯康星州、密歇根州、南达科他州、俄亥俄州和宾夕法尼亚州的部分地区。这些结果说明了气候变化对人类可能产生的负面影响，并将帮助医疗专业人员正确识别/治疗咬伤，从而有可能减少咬伤的误诊。
