2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

5/25/2021 | 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM | Riparian Spiders: A Sentinel Biosensor for Organic Contaminants? | Virtual Platform

Riparian Spiders: A Sentinel Biosensor for Organic Contaminants?

Most efforts to measure contaminants in streams and rivers are limited to single points in time or single contaminant classes, rather than prevalent mixtures known to often be present. This is due to the high temporal variation of contaminant water concentrations and the high costs to analyze. Biosensors may offer an inexpensive way of gaining an integrated sample of these chemical mixtures. We are investigating the potential to use predatory long-jawed orb weaving spiders, family Tetragnathidae, as a natural biosensor. Tetragnathidae were collected from the riparian zones of one stream and one river where detailed contaminant analyses are ongoing: pharmaceuticals in Muddy Creek near Iowa City, Iowa, and PFAS in the Haw River in North Carolina. Analyses compare the composition and concentration of targeted contaminants in spider tissues relative to surface water samples collected over a multi-year period. Our preliminary results allow us to determine which contaminants accumulate in spiders at concentrations above what is detected in water. We discuss how our findings should refine our approach to using spiders as biosensors for assessing contaminant loading in waterways and predict the risks posed to drinking water resources and sensitive wildlife.

Urban streams
Ecosystem
Biogeochemistry

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Presenters/Authors

Jonathan Behrens (), Duke University, jrb146@duke.edu;