Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The impact of snow accumulation on a heath spider community in a sub-Arctic landscape

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Patterns of snow cover across the Arctic are expected to change as a result of shrub encroachment and climate change. As snow cover impacts both the subnivean environment and the date of spring melt, these changes could impact Arctic food webs by altering the phenology and survival of overwintering arthropods, such as spiders (Araneae). In this field study, we used snow fences to increase snow cover across a series of large (375 m2) heath tundra plots and examined the effects on the local spider community during the following growing season. Fences increased snow cover and delayed melt on the treatment plots, paralleling the conditions of nearby shrub sites. Frequent sampling over the season revealed that increased snow cover did not affect spider abundance across different genera nor did it affect overall community composition. Further, our snow treatment did not affect the dates when plots achieved seasonal catch milestones (25, 50, 75 % of total seasonal catch). Increased winter snow cover did, however, produce higher body masses in adults and juveniles of the dominant species Pardosa lapponica (Lycosidae), beginning immediately after snow melt until midway through the growing season. In addition, ovary/oocyte mass of mature P. lapponica females was significantly higher on treatment plots during the peak reproductive period. This is the first experimental manipulation study to report a significant effect of landscape-level changes to winter snow cover on the biomass of an Arctic macroarthropod.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aitchison CW (1984) Low temperature feeding by winter-active spiders. J Arachnology 12:297–305

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker M (1977) Shorebird food habits in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Condor 79:56–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berrigan D (1991) The allometry of egg size and number in insects. Oikos 60:313–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowden JJ, Buddle CM (2010) Determinants of ground-dwelling spider assemblages at a regional scale in the Yukon territory, Canada. Ecoscience 17:287–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Austral Ecol 18:117–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corbet PS, Danks HV (1973) Seasonal emergence and activity of mosquitos (Diptera-Culicidae) in a high-Arctic locality. Can Entomol 105:837–872

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornelissen JHC, van Bodegom PM, Aerts R et al (2007) Global negative vegetation feedback to climate warming responses of leaf litter decomposition rates in cold biomes. Ecol Lett 10:619–627

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Danks HV (1999) Life cycles in polar arthropods- flexible or programmed? Eur J Entomol 96:83–102

    Google Scholar 

  • Danks HV (2004) Seasonal adaptations in arctic insects. Integre Compar Biol 44:85–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dollery R, Hodkinson ID, Jónsdóttir IS (2006) Impact of warming and timing of snow melt on soil microarthropod assemblages associated with Dryas-dominated plant communities on Svalbard. Ecography 29:111–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dondale C, Redner J (1986) The coloradensis, xerampelina, lapponica, and tesquorum groups of the genus Pardosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) in North America. Can Entomol 118:815–835

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dormann C, Woodin S (2002) Climate change in the Arctic: using plant functional types in a meta-analysis of field experiments. Func Ecol 16:4–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duman JG, Bennett V, Sformo T, Hochstrasser R, Barnes BM (2004) Antifreeze proteins in Alaskan insects and spiders. J Insect Physiology 50:259–266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edgar W, Loenen M (1974) Aspects of the overwintering habitat of the wolf spider Pardosa lugubris. J Zool 172:383–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eeva T, Veistola S, Lehikoinen E (2000) Timing of breeding in subarctic passerines in relation to food availability. Can J Zoo 78:67–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foelix RF (1996) Biology of spiders. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gertsch W (1979) American Spiders. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Gunnarsson B (1988) Body size and survival: implications for an overwintering spider. Oikos 52:274–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hågvar S (2010) A review of Fennoscandian arthropods living on and in snow. Eur J Entomol 107:281–298

    Google Scholar 

  • Hågvar S, Hågvar E (2011) Invertebrate activity under snow in a south-Norwegian spruce forest. Soil Org 83:187–209

    Google Scholar 

  • Hågvar S, Klanderud K (2009) Effect of simulated environmental change on alpine soil arthropods. Global Change Biol 15:2972–2980

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinzman L, Bettez N et al (2005) Evidence and implications of recent climate change in northern Alaska and other Arctic regions. Clim Change 72:251–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hothorn T, Hornik K, van de Wiel M, Zeileis A (2008) Implementing a class of permutation tests: the coin package. J Stat Softw 28:1–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Høye TT, Forchhammer MC (2008) Phenology of high-Arctic arthropods: effects of climate on spatial, seasonal, and inter-annual variation. Adv Ecol Res 40:299–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Høye TT, Hammel JU, Fuchs T, Toft S (2009) Climate change and sexual size dimorphism in an Arctic spider. Biol Lett 5:542–544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson J, Henry G (2009) Increased plant biomass in a high Arctic heath community from 1981 to 2008. Ecol 90:2657–2663

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hussell D (1972) Factors affecting clutch size in Arctic passerines. Ecol Monogr 42:317–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klaassen M, Lindström A, Meltofte H, Piersma T (2001) Arctic waders are not capital breeders. Nature 431:794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koponen S (1992) Spider fauna (Araneae) of the low Arctic Belcher islands, Hudson Bay. Arctic 45:358–362

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotiaho J, Alatalo R, Mappes J, Parri S (1999) Overwintering survival in relation to body mass in a field population of the wolf spider (Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata). J Zool 248:270–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kreiter N, Wise H (2001) Prey availability limits fecundity and influences the movement pattern of female fishing spiders. Oecologia 127:417–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Legendre P, Legendre L (1998) Numerical ecology. Elsevier, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Liston GE, Hiemstra C (2011) The changing cryosphere: pan-Arctic snow trends (1979–2009). J Climate 24:5691–5712

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liston GE, Mcfadden JP, Sturm M, Pielke RA (2002) Modelled changes in arctic tundra snow, energy and moisture fluxes due to increased shrubs. Global Change Biol 8:17–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall S (1994) Clutch size in spiders: is more better? Funct Ecol 8:118–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall K, Sinclair B (2012) The impacts of repeated cold exposure on insects. J Exp Biol 215:1607–1613

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marusik YM, Koponen S (2005) A survey of spiders (Araneae) with holarctic distribution. J Arachnology 33:300–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mckinnon L, Picotin M, Bolduc E, Juillet C, Bêty J (2012) Timing of breeding, peak food availability, and effects of mismatch on chick growth in birds nesting in the High Arctic. Can J Zoo 90:961–971

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meltofte H, Høye TT, Schmidt NM, Forchhammer MC (2007) Differences in food abundance cause inter-annual variation in the breeding phenology of High Arctic waders. Polar Biol 30:601–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merriam G, Wegner J, Caldwell D (1983) Invertebrate activity under snow in deciduous woods. Ecography 6:89–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy J (2008) Cold-hardiness in the wolf spider Pardosa groenlandica (Thorell) with respect to thermal limits and dehydration. J Arachnology 73A:215–718

    Google Scholar 

  • Myers-Smith I, Forbes B et al (2011) Shrub expansion in tundra ecosystems: dynamics, impacts and research priorities. Environ Res Lett 6:045509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norberg RÅ (1978) Energy content of some spiders and insects on branches of spruce (Picea abies) in winter; Prey of certain passerine birds. Oikos 31:222–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen J, Guillaume FB, Kindt R et al (2010) vegan: Community ecology package. R package version 1.17-5. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan. Accessed 5 Dec 2012

  • Olthof I, Pouliot D (2009) Recent (1986–2006) vegetation-specifics NDVI trends in northern Canada from satellite data. Arctic 61:381–394

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearce-Higgins J, Yalden D, Whittingham M (2005) Warmer springs advance the breeding phenology of golden plovers Pluvialis apricaria and their prey (Tipulidae). Oecologia 143:470–476

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pickavance J (2006) The spiders of East Bay, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada. Arctic 59:276–282

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy JW, Bewley DS, Essery RLH et al (2006) Shrub tundra snowmelt. Hydrol Process 20:923–941

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rich M, Gough L, Boelman N (2013) Arctic arthropod assemblages in habitats of differing shrub dominance. Ecography 36:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rinnan R, Michelsen A, Baath E, Jonasson S (2007) Mineralization and carbon turnover in subarctic heath soil as affected by warming and additional litter. Soil Biol Biochem 39:3014–3023

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers LE, Hinds WT, Buschbom RL (1976) A general length versus weight relationship for insects. Ann Entomol Soc Am 69:387–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Sample BE, Cooper RJ, Greer RD, Whitmore RC (1993) Estimation of insect biomass by length and width. Am Midland Nat 129:234–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seastedt T, MacLean S (1979) Territory size and composition in relation to resource abundance in Lapland Longspurs breeding in Arctic Alaska. Auk 96:131–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Serreze M, Walsh J et al (2000) Observational evidence of recent change in northern high-latitude environment. Clim Change 46:159–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strathdee AT, Bale JS (1998) Life on the edge: insect ecology in arctic environments. Ann Rev Entomol 43:85–106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sturm M, Racine C, Tape K (2001a) Increasing shrub abundance in the Arctic. Nature 411:546–547

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sturm M, McFadden JP, Liston GE, Chapin FS III, Racine CH, Holmgren J (2001b) Snow–shrub interactions in arctic tundra: a hypothesis with climatic implications. J Climate 14:336–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sturm M, Schimel J, Michaelson G et al (2005) Winter biological processes could help convert arctic tundra to shrubland. Bioscience 55:17–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tape K, Sturm M, Racine C (2006) The evidence for shrub expansion in Northern Alaska and the Pan-Arctic. Global Change Biol 12:686–702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taras B, Sturm M, Liston GE (2002) Snow-ground interface temperatures in the Kuparuk river basin, Arctic Alaska: measurements and Model. J Hydrometeorol 3:377–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teets N, Kawarasaki Y, Lee R, Denlinger D (2011) Survival and energetic costs of repeated cold exposure in the Antarctic midge, Belgica antartica: a comparison between frozen and supercooled larvae. J Exp Biol 214:806–814

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tulp I, Schekkerman H (2008) Has prey availability for Arctic birds advanced with climate change? Hindcasting the abundance of tundra arthropods using weather and seasonal variations. Arctic 61:48–60

    Google Scholar 

  • Ubick D, Paquin P, Cushing PE, Roth V (2005) Spiders of North America. American Arachnological Society, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Venables W, Ripley B (2002) Modern applied statistics with S, 4th edn. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walker DA, Raynolds MK, Daniëls FJ et al (2005) The circumpolar Arctic vegetation map. J Veg Sci 16:267–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wipf S, Rixen C (2010) A review of snow manipulation experiments in Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems. Polar Res 29:95–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wise DH (2006) Cannibalism, food limitation, intraspecific competition, and the regulation of spider populations. Ann Rev Ent 51:441–465

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The idea for this study came about from conversations with Robert L. Jefferies, whose experience in the Arctic provided important guidance during the preliminary phases of this work. This project would not have been possible without the assistance of Marine Cusa, who provided tremendous field support and advice on the experimental design. We thank LeeAnn Fishback, Carley Basler, and the Churchill Northern Studies Centre for crucial logistical and financial support. Anonymous reviewers provided excellent advice for improving previous versions of this paper. This work was supported by an NSERC Northern Research Internship to GL and through the Northern Scientific Training Program (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Geoffrey Legault

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada

    Geoffrey Legault & Arthur E. Weis

  2. Koffler Scientific Reserve at Jokers Hill, 17000 Dufferin Street, King City, ON, L7B 1K5, Canada

    Arthur E. Weis

Authors
  1. Geoffrey Legault
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Arthur E. Weis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geoffrey Legault.

Additional information

Dedicated to the memory of Robert L. Jefferies for his lifetime of excellence in teaching and research.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 47 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Legault, G., Weis, A.E. The impact of snow accumulation on a heath spider community in a sub-Arctic landscape. Polar Biol 36, 885–894 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1313-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1313-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation