Journal of Arachnology

Published by: American Arachnological Society

« previous article : next article »


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)

Linden E. Higgins, Mark A. Townley, Edward K. Tillinghast, and Mary Ann Rankin

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



LITERATURE CITED

Arakawa, T. and S. N. Timasheff. 1985. The stabilization of proteins by osmolytes. Biophysical Journal 47:411–414. CrossRef, PubMed
Benforado, J. and K. H. Kistler. 1973. Growth of the orb weaver, Araneus diadematus, and correlation with web measurements. Psyche 80:90–100. CrossRef
Blackledge, T. A. 1998. Stabilimentum variation and foraging success in Argiope aurantia and Argiope trifasciata (Araneae: Araneidae). Journal of Zoology, London 246:21–27. CrossRef, CSA
Bonthrone, K. M., F. Vollrath, B. K. Hunter, and J. K. M. Sanders. 1992. The elasticity of spiders' webs is due to water-induced mobility at a molecular level. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, Biological Sciences 248:141–144. CrossRef
Breed, A. L., V. D. Levine, D. B. Peakall, and P. N. Witt. 1964. The fate of the intact orb web of the spider Araneus diadematus Cl. Behaviour 23:43–60. CrossRef
Brown, A. D. and J. R. Simpson. 1972. Water relations of sugar-tolerant yeasts: The role of intracellular polyols. Journal of General Microbiology 72:589–591. PubMed
Craig, C. L., C. Riekel, M. E. Herberstein, R. S. Weber, D. Kaplan, and N. E. Pierce. In press. Evidence for diet effects on the composition of silk proteins produced by spiders. Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Csonka, L. N. and A. D. Hanson. 1991. Prokaryotic osmoregulation: Genetics and physiology. Annual Review of Microbiology 45:569–606. CrossRef, PubMed, CSA
Dadd, R. H. 1985. Nutrition: Organisms. Pp. 313–390. In Comprehensive Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Vol. 4, Regulation: Digestion, Nutrition, Excretion. (G.A. Kerkut and L.I. Gilbert, eds.). Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK.
Dreesbach, K., G. Uhlenbruck, and E. K. Tillinghast. 1983. Carbohydrates of the trypsin soluble fraction of the orb web of Argiope trifasciata. Insect Biochemistry 13:627–631. CrossRef
Eberhard, W. G. 1985. The “sawtoothed” orb web of Eustala sp. (Araneae, Araneidae) with a discussion of ontogenetic changes in spiders' web-building behavior. Psyche 92:105–117. CrossRef
Eberhard, W. G. 1986. Ontogenetic changes in the web of Epeirotypus sp. (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae). Journal of Arachnology 14:125–128. CSA
Edmonds, D. T. and F. Vollrath. 1992. The contribution of atmospheric water vapour to the formation and efficiency of a spider's capture web. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, Biological Sciences 248:145–148. CrossRef
Edmunds, J. 1993. The development of the asymmetrical web of Nephilengys cruentata (Fabricius). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 33:503–506.
Fischer, F. G. and J. Brander. 1960. Eine Analyse der Gespinste der Kreuzspinne. Hoppe-Seyler's Zeitsschrift fuer Physiologische Chemie 320:92–102. PubMed
Galinski, E. A. 1993. Compatible solutes of halophilic eubacteria: Molecular principles, water-solute interaction, stress protection. Experientia 49:487–496. CrossRef
Galinski, E. A. 1995. Osmoadaptation in bacteria. Advances in Microbial Physiology 37:273–328. CrossRef
Garcia, E. 1973. Modificaciones al Systema de Classificación Climatica de Köppen. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Press, Mexico City.
Garcia-Perez, A. and M. B. Burg. 1991. Renal medullary organic osmolytes. Physiological Reviews 71:1081–1115. PubMed, CSA
Gosline, J., C. Nichols, P. Guerette, A. Cheng, and S. Katz. 1995. The macromolecular design of spiders' silks. Pp. 237–261, In Biomimetics: Design and Processing of Materials. (M. Sarikaya & I.A. Aksay, eds.). American Institute of Physics Press, Woodbury, New York.
Gosline, J. M., C. C. Pollak, P. A. Guerette, A. Cheng, M. E. DeMont, and M. W. Denny. 1994. Elastomeric network models for the frame and viscid silks from the orb web of the spider Araneus diadematus. Pp. 328–341. In Silk Polymers. Materials Science and Biotechnology. (D. Kaplan, W.W. Adams, B. Farmer, C. Viney, eds.). American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
Hayashi, C. Y. and R. V. Lewis. 1998. Evidence from flagelliform silk cDNA for the structural basis of elasticity and modular nature of spider silks. Journal of Molecular Biology 275:773–784. CrossRef, PubMed, CSA
Herberstein, M. E., C. L. Craig, and M. A. Elgar. 2000. Foraging strategies and feeding regimes: Web decoration investment in Argiope keyserlingi Karsh (Araneae: Araneidae). Evolutionary Ecology Research 2:69–80.
Higgins, L. E. 1990. Variation in foraging investment during the intermolt interval and before egg-laying in the spider Nephila clavipes (Araneae: Araneidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 3:773–783. CrossRef
Higgins, L. E. 1992. Developmental changes in barrier web structure under different levels of predation risk in Nephila clavipes (Araneae: Tetragnathidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 5:635–655. CrossRef
Higgins, L. E. 1995. Direct evidence for trade-offs between foraging and growth in a juvenile spider. Journal of Arachnology 23:37–43. CSA
Higgins, L. E. and R. E. Buskirk. 1992. A trap-building predator exhibits different tactics for different aspects of foraging behaviour. Animal Behaviour 44:485–499. CrossRef, CSA
Higgins, L. E. and M. A. Rankin. 1999. Nutritional requirements for web synthesis in the tetragnathid spider Nephila clavipes. Physiological Entomology 24:263–270. CrossRef, CSA
Kinne, R. K. H. 1993. The role of organic osmolytes in osmoregulation: From bacteria to mammals. Journal of Experimental Zoology 265:346–355. CrossRef, PubMed
Le Rudulier, D., A. R. Strom, A. M. Dandekar, L. T. Smith, and R. C. Valentine. 1984. Molecular biology of osmoregulation. Science 224:1064–1068. CrossRef, PubMed, CSA
Osaki, S. 1989. Seasonal change in color of spiders' silk. Acta Arachnologia 38:21–28. CrossRef
Peakall, D. B. 1971. Conservation of web proteins in the spider, Araneus diadematus. Journal of Experimental Zoology 176:257–264. CrossRef, PubMed
Peters, H. M. 1955. Über den Spinnapparat von Nephila madagascariensis (Radnetzspinnen, Fam. Argiopidae). Zeitschrift fuer Naturforschung 10:b. 395–404.
Peters, H. M. 1995. Ultrastructure of orb spiders' gluey capture threads. Naturwissenschaften 82:380–382. CrossRef, CSA
Ramousse, R. 1973. Body, web-building and feeding characteristics of males of the spider Araneus diadematus (Araneae: Araneidae). Psyche 80:22–47. CrossRef
Richter, G. 1956. Untersuchungen über Struktur und Funktion der Klebefäden in den Fanggeweben ecribellater Radnetzspinnen. Naturwissenschaften 43:23. CrossRef
Schildknecht, H., P. Kunzelmann, D. Krauß, and C. Kuhn. 1972. Über die Chemie der Spinnwebe, I: Arthropodenabwehrstoffe, LVII. Naturwissenschaften 59:98–99. CrossRef
Schulz, S. 1997. The chemistry of spider toxins and spider silk. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English 36:314–326. CrossRef
Sekiguchi, K. 1952. On a new spinning gland found in geometric spiders and its functions. Annotationes Zoologicae Japonenses 25:394–399.
Sherman, P. M. 1994. The orb-web: An energetic and behavioural estimator of a spider's dynamic foraging and reproductive strategies. Animal Behaviour 48:19–34. CrossRef, CSA
Somero, G. N. 1986. Protons, osmolytes, and fitness of internal milieu for protein function. American Journal of Physiology 251:197–213. R. PubMed
Somero, G. N. 1992. Adapting to water stress: Convergence on common solutions. Pp. 3–18. In Water and Life: Comparative Analysis of Water Relationships at the Organismic, Cellular, and Molecular Levels. (G.N. Somero, C.B. Osmond and C.L. Bolis, eds.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Tillinghast, E. K. 1981. Selective removal of glycoproteins from the adhesive spiral of the spiders orb web. Naturwissenschaften 68:526–527. CrossRef
Tillinghast, E. K. 1984. The chemical fractionation of the orb web of Argiope spiders. Insect Biochemistry 14:115–120. CrossRef
Tillinghast, E. K. and T. Christenson. 1984. Observations on the chemical composition of the web of Nephila clavipes (Araneae, Araneidae). Journal of Arachnology 12:69–74. CSA
Tillinghast, E. K., M. A. Townley, T. N. Wight, G. Uhlenbruck, and E. Janssen. 1993. The adhesive glycoprotein of the orb web of Argiope aurantia (Araneae, Araneidae). Pp. 9–23. In Biomolecular Materials. (C. Viney, S.T. Case & J.H. Waite, eds.). Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Vol. 292. Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Tillinghast, E. K. and M. A. Townley. 1994. Silk glands of araneid spiders: Selected morphological and physiological aspects. Pp. 29–44. In Silk Polymers: Materials Science and Biotechnology. (D. Kaplan, W.W. Adams, B. Farmer & C. Viney, eds.). American Chemistry Society Symposium, Series 544. American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C.
Timasheff, S. N. 1992. A physicochemical basis for the selection of osmolytes by nature. Pp. 70–84. In Water and Life: Comparative Analysis of Water Relationships at the Organismic, Cellular, and Molecular Levels. (G.N. Somero, C.B. Osmond and C.L. Bolis, eds.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Townley, M. A. and E. K. Tillinghast. 1988. Orb web recycling in Araneus cavaticus (Araneae, Araneidae) with an emphasis on the adhesive spiral component, GABamide. Journal of Arachnology 16:303–319. CSA
Townley, M. A., D. T. Bernstein, K. S. Gallagher, and E. K. Tillinghast. 1991. Comparative study of orb web hygroscopicity and adhesive spiral composition in three araneid spiders. Journal of Experimental Zoology 259:154–165. CrossRef
Via, S. 1993. Adaptive phenotypic plasticity: Target or by-product of selection in a variable environment?. American Naturalist 142:352–365. CrossRef
Vollrath, F. and D. T. Edmonds. 1989. Modulation of the mechanical properties of spider silk by coating with water. Nature 340:305–307. CrossRef, CSA
Vollrath, F., W. J. Fairbrother, R. J. P. Williams, E. K. Tillinghast, D. T. Bernstein, K. S. Gallagher, and M. A. Townley. 1990. Compounds in the droplets of the orb spider's viscid spiral. Nature 345:526–528. CrossRef
Vollrath, F. and E. K. Tillinghast. 1991. Glycoprotein glue beneath a spider web's aqueous coat. Naturwissenschaften 78:557–559. CrossRef
Wilkinson, L. 1992. SYSTAT: Statistics, Version 5.2 Edition. Systat, Inc., Evanston, Illinois.
Witt, P. N., J. O. Rawlings, and C. F. Reed. 1972. Ontogeny of web-building behavior in two orb-weaving spiders. American Zoologist 12:445–454.
Yancey, P. H. 1992. Compatible and counteracting aspects of organic osmolytes in mammalian kidney cells in vivo and in vitro. Pp. 19–32. In Water and Life: Comparative Analysis of Water Relationships at the Organismic, Cellular, and Molecular Levels. (G.N. Somero, C.B. Osmond and C.L. Bolis, eds.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Yancey, P. H., M. E. Clark, S. C. Hand, R. D. Bowlus, and G. N. Somero. 1982. Living with water stress: Evolution of osmolyte systems. Science 217:1214–1222. CrossRef, PubMed

Figure 1. The average molar percentage of each of the seven studied low-molecular weight organic compounds (± SEM) for each population under field and laboratory conditions. Data from Chamela include observations made in the laboratory in Mexico City (open bars) and in the laboratory in Austin (hatched bars). N-a-taurine: N-acetyltaurine; gly betaine: glycine betaine. = 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

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

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

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

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)

Cited by

Brent D. Opell, Genine K. Lipkey, Mary L. Hendricks, Stephen T. Vito. (2009) Daily and seasonal changes in the stickiness of viscous capture threads in Argiope aurantia and Argiope trifasciata orb-webs. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology 311A:3, 217-225
Online publication date: 1-Apr-2009.
CrossRef
I-Min Tso, Shu-Ya Chiang, Todd A. Blackledge. (2007) Does the Giant Wood Spider Nephila pilipes Respond to Prey Variation by Altering Web or Silk Properties?. Ethology 113:4, 324-333
Online publication date: 1-May-2007.
CrossRef
Linden Higgins. (2006) QUANTITATIVE SHIFTS IN ORB-WEB INVESTMENT DURING DEVELOPMENT IN NEPHILA CLAVIPES (ARANEAE, NEPHILIDAE). Journal of Arachnology 34:2, 374-386
Online publication date: 1-Aug-2006.

Abstract & References : Full Text : PDF (128 KB) : Rights & Permissions 

Jutta Mayer, Karin Denger, Theo H. M. Smits, Klaus Hollemeyer, Ulrich Groth, Alasdair M. Cook. (2006) N-Acetyltaurine dissimilated via taurine by Delftia acidovorans NAT. Archives of Microbiology 186:1, 61-67
Online publication date: 1-Aug-2006.
CrossRef
Maurcio?Ribeiro Marques, Maria?Anita Mendes, Cludio?Francisco Tormena, Bibiana?M. Souza, Llian?Mari Marcondes?Cesar, Roberto Rittner, Mario?S. Palma. (2005) Structure Determination of a Tetrahydro-?-carboline of Arthropod Origin: A Novel Alkaloid-Toxin Subclass from the Web of SpiderNephila clavipes. Chemistry & Biodiversity 2:4, 525-534
Online publication date: 1-May-2005.
CrossRef
SURESH P. BENJAMIN, SAMUEL ZSCHOKKE. (2003) Webs of theridiid spiders: construction, structure and evolution. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 78:3, 293-305
Online publication date: 1-Apr-2003.
CrossRef
 
BioOne is the product of innovative collaboration between scientific societies, libraries, academe and the private sector.
 
21 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036 • Phone 202.296.2296 • Fax 202.872.0884
 
Copyright © 2009 BioOne All rights reserved