Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, Katowice 40-007, Poland.
Laboratory of Scanning Electron Microscopy, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Jagiellońska 28, Katowice 40-007, Poland.
Sci Total Environ. 2017 May 15;586:1298-1307. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.143. Epub 2017 Feb 22.
The study aimed to assess whether cadmium administered via ingestion to Steatoda grossa cobweb spiders (Theridiidae) affects the energy content and selected structural properties of the produced hunting webs. Cadmium content in webs was assessed with AAS and SEM X-ray microanalysis, while the diameters of silk fibers were estimated with SEM. The energy content of samples was measured in an oxygen micro-bomb calorimeter. Females and males showed different reactions to cadmium supplied through food. In comparison to females, males displayed higher metal concentrations in their bodies and hunting webs, however their calorific values and structural features were not significantly changed. Cadmium-treated females spun webs with smaller single-strand diameters and more frequent multi-stranded threads and invested 47% less energy in web production than the control individuals. It cannot be excluded that such a reduction in energy expenditure for web building in females resulted from energetically costly detoxifying reactions triggered in response to direct and indirect effects of cadmium toxicity.
本研究旨在评估通过摄食向大疣蛛（Theridiidae）投喂镉是否会影响所产生的捕猎蛛网的能量含量和选定的结构特性。利用原子吸收光谱法（AAS）和扫描电镜 X 射线微分析（SEM X-ray microanalysis）评估了蛛网中的镉含量，而利用扫描电镜（SEM）估计了丝纤维的直径。利用氧微弹量热计测量了样品的能量含量。雌雄个体对食物中提供的镉表现出不同的反应。与雌性相比，雄性体内和捕猎蛛网上的金属浓度更高，但它们的热值和结构特征没有明显变化。与对照组相比，经镉处理的雌性所织蛛网的单丝直径更小，多丝线程更频繁，用于蛛网生产的能量投入减少了 47%。不能排除这种用于蛛网构建的能量消耗减少是由于镉毒性的直接和间接影响引发的解毒反应而导致的。
