The Ecology of Northern Spiders

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The small creatures of the world, including insects and spiders, are essential to the health of our ecosystems, and are especially important in Canada's north. These animals are being affected by shifts in their environment, including climate change. In some cases, these effects are most acute in the north and as such, the ecology and biology of northern insects and spiders requires significant research attention and support. Spiders are among the most common terrestrial animals to inhabit tundra ecosystems, they represent a key food resource for insectivorous birds, and there are hundreds of spider species occurring in Canada's north. My research program will study the ecology of spiders in northern boreal, sub-Arctic and Arctic ecosystems. My research will first seek to determine what governs populations of wolf spiders, which are the largest and most abundant northern spiders. The factors that govern their populations, which in turn affect the biology of their predators (e.g., birds), is unknown. Second, my research will collect and determine the diversity of shrub-dwelling spiders along the ecological transition from the northern-boreal to the sub-arctic tundra in the Yukon Territory. This biodiversity assessment will increase our knowledge of this fauna, which has never been quantified in northern Canada. Third, the research will seek to determine patterns in the biogeography of the most diverse spiders in the north - the Linyphiidae (sheet-web spiders). Fourth, my research will build an Arctic food-web, using spiders as a key trophic node since they are important as prey and predators in the north. Fifth, through work with northern communities, my research will help to establish the first spider monitoring program across northern Canada: a program that will include all people with an interest in northern wildlife, and a program that will gather critical long-term data about Canada's Arctic. Benchmarking the ecological dynamics of northern animals, including spiders, will help Canada better understand the long-term environmental changes occurring in its northern regions.