Molecular Biosciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, USA.
Department of Biology, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN, 37132, USA.
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2019 Aug;103(2):225-232. doi: 10.1007/s00128-019-02632-y. Epub 2019 May 20.
Tetragnathid spiders (Tetragnatha spp.) found in riparian habitats have recently been used as bioindicators of sediment contamination and insect-mediated contaminant flux. We investigated whether sexual dimorphism (size and behavior) influenced the female:male ratio in composite samples, stable isotope ratios (carbon [δC], nitrogen [δN]), and Hg concentrations in the southern United States. Additionally, we explored whether biomass for contaminant analysis could be preserved by using the legs of tetragnathids as a surrogate for whole-body δC and δN signatures. We found that female tetragnathids were significantly larger than male spiders and represented a larger proportion of spiders collected at all sites. However, despite the difference in size between sexes, no differences in growth dynamics, isotopic signatures (δC and δN), or mercury concentrations were observed. It was determined that the leg of a tetragnathid can accurately represent the stable isotope signature of an entire spider.
在河岸栖息地发现的 Tetragnathid 蜘蛛（Tetragnatha spp.）最近被用作沉积物污染和昆虫介导的污染物通量的生物指标。我们研究了性二态性（大小和行为）是否会影响美国南部复合样本中的雌雄比例、稳定同位素比值（碳 [δC]、氮 [δN]）和汞浓度。此外，我们还探讨了是否可以通过使用 Tetragnathid 的腿作为整个身体 δC 和 δN 特征的替代物来保存用于污染物分析的生物量。我们发现，雌性 Tetragnathid 比雄性蜘蛛大得多，并且在所有地点采集的蜘蛛中所占比例更大。然而，尽管两性之间存在大小差异，但在生长动态、同位素特征（δC 和 δN）或汞浓度方面并未观察到差异。确定 Tetragnathid 的腿可以准确代表整个蜘蛛的稳定同位素特征。
