Orb-weaving spiders are fewer but larger and catch more prey in lit bridge panels from a natural artificial light experiment
Orb-weaving spiders are fewer but larger and catch more prey in lit bridge panels from a natural artificial light experiment
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DOI：
10.7717/peerj.8808
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发表时间：
2020-03-17
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Gomes, Dylan G. E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gomes, Dylan G. E.
夜间的人造光正在迅速改变感官世界。虽然关于昆虫如何受到影响的证据正在积累，但尚不清楚这如何影响以昆虫群落为食的较高营养水平。蜘蛛是重要的昆虫捕食者，最近研究表明，它们在城市地区的数量有所增加，但对人造光的反应却各不相同。在一座人工照明和未照明部分交替的桥上，我测量了球织蜘蛛 Larinioides sclopetarius（Araneidae）的网丰度、结网行为、捕获猎物和身体状况的变化。在人工照明的条件下，蜘蛛用更小的网捕获更多的猎物，并且身体状况更高。然而，在那些被照亮的区域，结有活跃网的蜘蛛较少。这表明，蜘蛛要么没有利用生态昆虫陷阱，可能是因为自己成为猎物的风险增加，要么是已经吃饱了，因此在这些栖息地内不再活跃。这项自然实验的结果可能对人工照明条件下城市地区的昆虫和蜘蛛产生重要影响。
Artificial light at night is rapidly changing the sensory world. While evidence is accumulating for how insects are affected, it is not clear how this impacts higher trophic levels that feed on insect communities. Spiders are important insect predators that have recently been shown to have increased abundance in urban areas, but have shown mixed responses to artificial light. On a single bridge with alternating artificially lit and unlit sections, I measured changes in the orb-weaving spider Larinioides sclopetarius (Araneidae) web abundance, web-building behavior, prey-capture, and body condition. In artificially lit conditions, spiders caught more prey with smaller webs, and had higher body conditions. However, there were fewer spiders with active webs in those lit areas. This suggests that either spiders were not taking advantage of an ecological insect trap, perhaps due to an increased risk of becoming prey themselves, or were satiated, and thus not as active within these habitats. The results from this natural experiment may have important consequences for both insects and spiders in urban areas under artificial lighting conditions.