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Increased urbanisation is leading to littering of the environment. However, some animals may adapt to live in such altered habitats. The aim of this study was to assess whether discarded containers can serve as a suitable microhabitat for spiders. The study was conducted in 10 woodland areas in the city of Wrocław, Poland. In September 2018, a total of 939 containers were collected, of which 33.5% contained evidence of spiders having resided therein: webs, dead or living spiders, exuviae or cocoons. A total of 22 species and several other taxa that could not be recognised so accurately were detected. The most common of these belonged to Linyphiidae and Theridiidae. Juveniles (N = 103) dominated over adults (N = 58), and females (N = 34) were more numerous than males (N = 24). In 15 containers, interspecies pairs were found. Among ecological guilds, sheet web spiders dominated (60%) followed by space web spiders (24%), ground hunters (9%), ambush hunters (3%), specialists (3%), and other hunters (2%). Spiders were significantly more often found in colourless (38.3%) and green (35.5%) than in brown bottles (25.2%). They were also more numerous in glass bottles for sweet drinks (50.0%) than in beer bottles (28.0%), and slightly more frequent than in glass vodka bottles (33.3%). Our study showed that discarded containers are fully exploitable microhabitats for spiders and are used by these animals for at least three different purposes: hunting, hiding and breeding, however the effect on their fitness remains unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Studies focused on the possible use of spider webs as environmental pollution indicators. This was a first time ever attempt to use webs as indicators of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution. The aim of the study was (a) to evaluate whether webs are able to accumulate PM-associated road traffic emissions and be analyzed for organic toxics such as PAHs, (b) to assess if the distance from emission sources could have an influence on the accumulation level of pollutants, and (c) to determine types of pollution sources responsible for a structure of monitoring data set. Webs of four species from the family Agelenidae were sampled for PAHs presence. Data from vehicle traffic sites (i.e., road tunnel, arterial surface road, underground parking) and from railway traffic sites (i.e., two railway viaducts) in the city of Wroclaw (Southwest of Poland) showed a significantly higher mean concentrations of PAHs than the reference site 1 (municipal water supply works). We also found a significant differences at sites differed by the distance from emission sources. The result of PCA analysis suggested three important sources of pollution. We conclude that spider webs despite of some limitations proved useful indicators of road traffic emissions; they could be even more reliable compared to use of bioindicators whose activity is often limited by a lack of water and sun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have proven that spider webs can be a reliable tool for magnetic biomonitoring. This study aims to present the magnetic susceptibility values of urban road dust (URD) settled indoors and outdoors, and compare these values with spider webs exposed to indoor and outdoor pollutants, and therefore to discuss their potential environmental implications. The webs of Eratigena atrica, Tegenaria ferruginea, and Agelena labyrinthica (Agelenidae) spiders from outdoor and indoor study sites were investigated, along with dust deposited on filters (indoors) and dust collected from the surrounding neighborhood (outdoors). Magnetic measurements revealed elevated levels of magnetic pollutants at all investigated sites in the city of Wrocław. The indoor/outdoor ratios of mass-specific magnetic susceptibility for the studied samples suggested a prevalence of indoor pollution sources at two of the sites (prosthetic laboratory and environmental science laboratory), whereas the third site (tenement house neighborhood) was dominated by material that presumably originated from predominantly outdoor sources. The indoor/outdoor ratios of magnetic susceptibility for the investigated matrices at the examined sites were highly comparable, which is promising for the utilization of spider webs in magnetic monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]