Ecosystem disturbance - FA project

              In April 1999, a major Class 5 tornado struck the communities of Montgomery and Blue Ash, just North of the City of Cincinnati, causing major damage to homes and nearby natural areas.  One of the hardest hit areas was the Benedict/Hazelwood Botanical Preserve, owned by the University of Cincinnati. Approximately one-half of the 65 acre forest was destroyed. This study, in collaboration with departmental colleagues Dr. Guy Cameron and Dr. Michal Polak, is directed at the first post-disturbance generation of several animal species (invertebrates and vertebrates; primary and secondary consumers) that have been subjected to environmental stress from a major ecosystem catastrophe during their development. Our part of the study concerns the question of whether environmental stress from habitat destruction will have an impact on fluctuating asymmetry or FA (an indicator of developmental instability) in the Brush-Legged Wolf Spider Schizocosa ocreata (see above [link]?). 

Pitfall trap surveys were done in the first year after the tornado, and specimens from disturbed and undisturbed areas will be digitized and measured for FA.  FA - small, random deviations from perfect left-right symmetry in bilaterally symmetrical animals – is a frequently-cited indicator of environmental stress, and is often used as a means of determining impact of disturbance on animal populations. Analyses of specimens from pitfall traps will also allow us to track changes in FA of S. ocreata populations as well as spider biodiversity and species composition in the years following the disturbance.

  Supported by the National Science Foundation.

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 Research: 1. Wolf Spider Research | 2. Colonial Web-Building Spiders Research | 3. El Niño Influence on Colonial Web-Building Spiders. |  4. Impact of a Ecosystem Disturbance on Spider Populations and Communities