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Elevational variation of body size and reproductive traits in high-latitude wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae)

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Abstract

Environmental gradients can help us comprehend the range of adaptations or plasticity that a given species can exhibit in response to climatic change. In this study, we assessed the response in female body size, clutch size and egg volume to elevational gradients in closely related wolf spiders. We measured these traits in Pardosa glacialis, P. hyperborea, P. furcifera and P. palustris, collected along elevational gradients across six sites in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions (four sites in Greenland, one in Iceland and one in the Faroe Islands), although not all species were found at all sites. Body size and reproductive traits did not vary with elevation in a consistent manner among species although smaller species were more sensitive to the gradients. The positive relationship between body size and clutch size was most pronounced in the larger species, indicating that larger species are better able to translate favourable environmental conditions into a larger reproductive output. Our study illustrates that elevational gradients may not fully capture spatial variation in environmental conditions experienced by high-latitude wolf spider species.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part of the SPACEWOLF project (Spatial gradients in physiological adaptation and life-history traits of Arctic wolf spiders) led by Julien Pétillon and Philippe Vernon, and funded by INTERACT: International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic. Cyril Courtial helped sample in Kobbefjord. Karina Fisker collected the samples in Iceland; Ana Luisa Machado and Mónica J.B. Amorim helped sample in the Faroe Islands. Parasitoids were identified by Claire Villemant, UMR 7205 Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, MNHN. We thank three anonymous reviewers for providing insightful comments on this work.

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Author notes

  1. Camille Ameline

    Present address: Evolutionary Biology, Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051, Basel, Switzerland

  2. Joseph James Bowden

    Present address: Canadian Forest Service - Atlantic Forestry Centre, 26 University Drive, PO Box 960, Corner Brook, NL, A2H 6J3, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Rennes 1, EA 7316, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, CS 74205, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France

    Camille Ameline & Charlène Puzin

  2. Department of Bioscience and Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Grenåvej 14, 8410, Rønde, Denmark

    Toke Thomas Høye

  3. Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, bldg. 1540, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Joseph James Bowden & Rikke Reisner Hansen

  4. Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, bldg. 1110, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Oskar Liset Pryds Hansen

  5. Natural History Museum Aarhus, Wilhelm Meyers Allé 210, Universitetsparken, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Oskar Liset Pryds Hansen

  6. Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO, Station Biologique de Paimpont, 35380, Paimpont, France

    Philippe Vernon

  7. Université de Rennes 1, CNRS, UMR 6553 ECOBIO, 263 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France

    Julien Pétillon

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  1. Camille Ameline
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Correspondence to Camille Ameline.

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Ameline, C., Høye, T.T., Bowden, J.J. et al. Elevational variation of body size and reproductive traits in high-latitude wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae). Polar Biol 41, 2561–2574 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2391-5

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