Voice of America
09 Jul 2020, 03:05 GMT+10
A new study suggests earlier Arctic springs driven by climate change are providing wolf spiders in the region the opportunity to have more babies.
The study, published in the June 24 edition of the biological sciences journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, found that Arctic wolf spiders are taking advantage of the early spring season by producing more batches of offspring - called clutches - because warmer temperatures extend the season when the spiders are active.
Authors of the study, from the Arctic Research Center at Denmark's Aarhus University, dissected individual egg sacs from the spiders and counted the number of eggs and partially developed juvenile spiders. They compared those egg contents with the size of the mothers and determined that the spiders were producing two separate clutches, something previously only observed in spiders living in lower latitudes.
The spiders hatched during the second clutch appeared significantly later in the season. In years when the snowmelt happened earlier, the first clutches occurred earlier, and the second clutches were larger, the study shows.
The study provides the first evidence of invertebrates in the Arctic producing additional clutches as a result of global warming. The researchers say this could be a "common but overlooked phenomenon due to the challenges associated with long-term collection of life-history data in the Arctic."
Researchers say that this effect could also have implications for Arctic ecosystems as a whole because wolf spiders are widely distributed.
Get a daily dose of Sweden Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sweden Sun.
More InformationSTOCKHOLM/DETROIT: Volvo Cars customers will likely bear the brunt of increasing trade tariffs, CEO Hakan Samuelsson said this week,...
GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Volvo Cars is stepping up its collaboration with Google to become the lead development partner for Android automotive...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump re-ignited his trade war on Friday with an extraordinary attack on the European Union...
By Sahil Pandey Paris [France], May 27 (ANI): Head of the Indian all-party delegation to European countries, BJP MP Ravi Shankar...
Potential US involvement in mining is problematic, a minister has said, as the autonomous Danish island reassesses global ties Greenland...
Potential US involvement in mining is problematic, a minister has said, as the autonomous Danish island reassesses global ties ...
TORONTO, Canada - Tens of thousands of people from across Canada have marched in support of Israel in a massive turnout in Toronto....
BOSTON, Massachusetts: U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has taken away Harvard University's right to enroll international...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he believed God was behind his election loss in 2020, even though he has...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Passenger numbers at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey have dropped sharply, according to...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: European Union antitrust regulators are examining fees imposed by payment giants Visa and Mastercard, Bloomberg...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. Army plans to change the records of transgender soldiers to list only their sex at birth, according to a...