Meeting Abstract

P1-6   -   Only Time Will Tell: Activity Tracking of Wolf Spiders Jones, KS*; Adams, OR; Classen Rodriguez, L; Dell, AI; Frauenheim, KP; Rhee, RS; Sahai, A; Seymoure, BS; Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Edward Waters University, Jacksonville, FL; St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO; National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, Alton, IL and Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO; Washington University in St. Louis Living Earth Collaborative, St. Louis, MO Katie.jones@wustl.edu

Spiders are typically categorized as nocturnal, diurnal, or crepuscular; however, the exact activity patterns for many spiders are unknown and likely vary dependent upon sex, species, and time of year. Spiders are known to be plastic arthropods that can alter their activity patterns to occupy different temporal niches. However, little is known about the exact activity patterns of many species of Lycosidae other than the fact that their activity patterns are highly variable. This has important ramifications for mating, hunting, and the habitats spiders are able to occupy and coexist in. Our team investigated how activity patterns vary across species of wolf spiders, time collected, and sex. We selected 112 spiders from the field to track their activity over the course of 24 hours. The spiders were acclimated to a Darwin Light Chamber at 25 C and 65% humidity that followed a 14:8 hour light:dark cycle with two hours of twilight. After 48 hours of an undisturbed acclimation period, videos were taken of each of the panels on the hour for 10 minutes. The spiders were placed in 100 mm petri dishes on a piece of paper to control for the vibrations of nearby spiders. They were then placed in a 4 by 4 array on an infrared panel. The videos were processed through activity tracking software using millimeters of movement as a proxy for “activity.” We report that individual spiders varied in activity levels, and activity patterns varied across species and sex with females appearing to be more active and more restricted to twilight niches than males. Understanding wolf spider species’ activity patterns will enable future research into the effects of artificial light exposure on spider circadian rhythms, behavior and ecology. Spiders are crucial in terrestrial food webs and a major natural pesticide, thus this work has larger implications for predator-prey dynamics and temporal differences of nutrient cycling in ecosystems.