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Dr. Joseph Dorsey
Natural Systems I
October 4, 2001
Markle, Smith, Firestone, Feichtner, Van Houtte
Jammin' Spider Webs
The goal of student generated lab is to study the effect of vibration on web formation of spiders (male, preferably). Past experiments prove that web patterns are altered due to imposed changes in the spider’s environments and behaviors. Drugs such as marijuana, speed, caffeine and sleeping pills drastically affect the spiders’ ability to produce a “normal” web (www.cling.gu.se/~c15pwall/spiders/spiders.html). Experiments also show that temperature changes also have seriously affected the weight, configuration and size of spider webs (Barghusen, 2). Finally, changes in texture of the surfaces affect the web (Smith, 1999). For these reasons and more, we think that the web will change due to a controlled alteration in their environment.
Spiders are sensitive to vibration. They have a relatively heavy center and are connected to their surface by only eight slim appendages, and use their sensitivity to vibration to compensate for their poor eye site (Shear, 61). Clearly this sensitivity is important as spiders use it when they realize that prey has hit their web (www.thesnake.org/spiders.html). Also vibrations play a key role in the mating process of spiders; for example wolf spiders use their appendages to vibrate their web and excite their counterpart (Rovner, 72-73). For these reasons we feel certain that there will be at least some measurable difference in the webs based purely on the vibrations we expose to the spiders too. We predict that the webs overall will become smaller, and that the inner configuration will be more erratic as vibration level within the music increases.
We think this experiment is significant because it will shed light on the way spiders react to human intervention. As our cities grow, we infringe and dominate more and more of the natural environment. Spiders today are exposed to car horns, construction, slamming doors and telephones. These experiments perhaps will show us how the webs have changed as human “noise” has entered the spider realm. By exaggerating and controlling this noise we can observe some general trends.
We hope to confirm our hypothesis by conducting research with four groups of spiders with two spiders per group. Group one will be a control; they will spin webs for the duration of our study without musical exposure. Groups two, three and four will each have a different kind of musical exposure. The spiders will be exposed to the music constantly after they become acclimated to their aquarium environment. The music will be played at a set volume for each spider and variables such as temperature, lighting, cage contents, amount of food and water provided will all be controlled to create as much of a natural environment as possible.
Here is how we anticipate the schedule:
First we allow the spiders to each spin a web without musical exposure. During this time we will make note of the patterns within the web, the number of sides on the web and general outer configuration of the web, of the time taken to make the web, of the area in the cage that they choose to make the web, the size of the web and any other relevant characteristics. We’re going to repeat this step until we discern the general patterns within the “normal” web. After identifying these patterns, we’re going to remove the web and provide food to encourage the spiders to spin yet again. The spiders will make one web underneath the influence of music, then make another in silence. They will follow this routine until the web pattern of each musical selection is evident (or, if no pattern arises, we will interpret these results accordingly.
Each spider will have his/her own habitat. We aim to make this habitat as natural as possible. As of now, we are planning to allow each spider half of a medium aquarium. The bottom of each aquarium will be covered in a thin layer of dirt, aka a soil zone (Foelix, 234). The temperature will be the ambient temperature. This should be the most natural as we are planning on using house spiders in the first place. The aquariums will also contain some sort of natural vegetation (perhaps leaves or clover). Also we will place things in the aquarium that the spiders can attach their webs to (these will be uniform in both placement and size through the aquariums). The rest of the aquarium will be empty to give the spiders plenty of “weaving room.” As of now, we are planning to feed the spiders flies or crickets, whichever is most practical (and thus give them an incentive to spin).
We are planning to collect the webs and study them using photographs obtained by a digital camara and then catalogue certain characteristics of the web. We are going to analyze the data by comparing time needed to make the web, size of web, inner configuration of the web and whatever other relevant observable factors are present! From this data we are going to attempt to draw well supported conclusions regarding the effect of music on the web formation of wolf spiders. We’re excited and hope you all are too.
This is especially exciting because we are, in effect, bridging the wide gap between man and arachnid. We share the planet, let’s share some beautiful music!
Bibliography
1. Barghusen, Laura. The Effects of Temperature on the Web-Building Behavior of the
Common House Spider. Oxford: Miami University Press, 1994.
2. Foelix, Rainer F. Biology of Spiders. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1982.
3. Rovner, Jerone S, and Peter N. Witt. Spider Communication: Mechanisms and
Ecological Significance. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982.
4. Shear, William A. Spiders: Webs, Behavior, and Evolution. Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1986.
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