Journal of Arachnology
Published by: American Arachnological Society
Journal of Arachnology 29(1):82-94. 2001
doi: 10.1636/0161-8202(2001)029[0082:VITCCO]2.0.CO;2
VARIATION IN THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ORB WEBS BUILT BY THE SPIDER NEPHILA CLAVIPES (ARANEAE, TETRAGNATHIDAE)




aDepartment of Entomology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 USA
bDepartment of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824 USA
cDepartment of Organismal Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 USA
Abstract
The adhesive droplets in the orb webs of araneoid spiders contain, among other constituents, an aqueous solution of organic low-molecular-weight compounds. The chemical composition of this solution has been investigated for pooled web collections from several species, but little is known about how the composition might vary among individuals or among environments. To begin addressing these questions, we analyzed serial collections of orb webs spun by individual juvenile Nephila clavipes from three different populations held first under field conditions and then under laboratory conditions.
Our results indicate that the composition of the organic low-molecular-weight solution is not fixed. We found significant differences in the droplet composition among individuals, among populations, and with the transfer of spiders to laboratory conditions. The possible origins and consequences of these differences are discussed.
Received: May 13, 2000; Revised: November 13, 2000
Keywords: Orb web chemistry, interpopulational variation, intrapopulational variation, compatible solutes, adhesive spiral
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= Significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) among populations; § = significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) between field and laboratory conditions within a population (Bonferroni -corrected P values)
Table 1. Characteristics of the study sites. TX: Austin, Texas; MX: Mexico City, Mexico. (Data from: Garcia 1973; S. H. Bullock personal communication; Texas Department of Parks personal communication)
Table 2. Qualitative variation in the composition of Nephila clavipes web washes examined in this study. The identification numbers of the individual spiders exhibiting a given web composition feature are given in parentheses below non-zero values. 1Field and laboratory web collections were obtained from 6 females and 3 males from Brazos Bend. Following collection of webs in the laboratory, the spiders were killed en masse by freezing before the sex of each numbered individual was determined. Thus, we do not know the sex of each individual. 2F = field-collected; LM = laboratory-collected in Mexico City; LA = laboratory-collected in Austin. 3An unidentified compound producing a singlet at 4.30 ppm in 1H NMR spectra of some web washes. See Qualitative variation section of Results
Table 3. Pearson correlation matrices for each population, including both field and laboratory collected webs. The molar percentage of each compound was arcsin (squareroot) transformed prior to analysis. Abbreviations: gly = glycine; N-tau = N-acetyltaurine; GABam = GABamide; put: putrescine; cho = choline; bet = glycine betaine. Bonferroni-corrected P-values: * P ≤ 0.05, ** P ≤ 0.001
Table 4. Multiple analysis of variance: Differences among field-spun webs from spiders in three populations, and differences between field- and laboratory-spun webs from three populations. The two entries for Chamela field to laboratory comparisons reflect comparisons between field and the laboratory in Mexico (F/LM) and between field and the laboratory in Austin (F/LA)
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