Science
Researchers test natural spiderwebs and synthetic faux webs to harvest environmental DNA
Studies show natural spiderwebs excel at catching vertebrate genetic material, while synthetic webs offer a non-destructive alternative for biodiversity tracking.
The short version
- Scientists are utilizing spiderwebs as traps for environmental DNA (eDNA), which captures genetic material shed by nearby animals, plants, and fungi.
- While natural webs effectively capture vertebrate DNA, collecting sufficient samples requires destroying tens of spider habitats.
- To solve this issue, researchers demonstrated that cheap synthetic faux webs can successfully capture eDNA from surrounding livestock, birds, and fungal spores.
- Researchers are now planning larger experiments to evaluate artificial webs for widespread, low-cost ecological surveillance.
Key facts
- Spiderwebs passively collect eDNA, including saliva, pollen, and other biological debris from surrounding organisms and air.[MIT Technology Review]
- Joshua Newton of Curtin University found that natural spiderwebs surpassed other passive eDNA collection tools, such as soil or air filter fans, in identifying vertebrates.[MIT Technology Review]
- Gathering actionable data using natural spiderwebs required researchers to destroy approximately 40 webs per sample.[MIT Technology Review]
- Angela McGaughran of the University of Waikato used store-bought synthetic Halloween webs to trap eDNA without destroying natural spider habitats.[MIT Technology Review]
- Synthetic webs successfully caught eDNA from nearby sheep, cows, birds, and outperformed natural webs at capturing fungal spores.[MIT Technology Review]
What remains uncertain
- Whether synthetic spiderwebs can reliably scale into a standardized, widespread method for ecological surveillance remains under investigation through ongoing larger experiments.[MIT Technology Review]
Sources
- Welcome to the spiderverse, a world measured through websMIT Technology Review metered