Interaction Between Pathogenic Infection and Environmental Toxins on Morphological Development of Wolf Spiders (Lycosidae)

Abstract

Record ID: 242

Award(s): Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship

Program Affiliation: Capstone

Presentation Type: Poster

Abstract: Pollution with heavy metals such as lead (Pb) constitutes a major source of environmental contamination of natural ecosystems and the wildlife they contain. However, physiological stress from environmental toxins is not the only threat to wild animal populations, as risk of pathogenic infection is also present. Investigation into combined impacts of these physiological stressors and how they interact to affect individuals and populations is the objective of this study.  The brush-legged wolf spider, Schizocosa ocreata, is a model species for reproductive behavior and the factors that affect it as well as a biosentinel for environmental contamination. In this study we focused on the effects of lead exposure, pathogenic infection, and a combination of the aforementioned on the development of morphological traits in S. ocreata. Juvenile wolf spiders were collected from the Cincinnati Nature Center in fall 2023 and raised in a controlled lab until maturity. At the penultimate instar, spiders were either (a) treated with pathogens; (b) exposed to lead contaminated soil for 28 days; (c) both or (d) neither (controls). Initial measures of body morphology (size, weight) and indicator traits used by females in mate choice (foreleg tuft size and fluctuating asymmetry or FA) suggest that lead may be an important factor impacting development.