Thermal Physiology of Spiders
Summary
Spiders, as small ectothermic arthropods, rely on ambient temperature to drive physiological processes, from locomotion and prey capture to development and reproduction. Thermal physiology in spiders encompasses their capacity to tolerate extremes, their preferred temperatures for optimal performance, and the mechanisms they employ to mitigate thermal stress. Behavioural strategies such as microhabitat selection, basking or retreat use enable fine-scale regulation of body temperature. Physiologically, spiders exhibit acclimation via shifts in metabolic rate, modulation of respiratory efficiency through book lungs and tracheal systems, and adjustments in cuticular permeability to control water loss at high temperatures. Critical thermal limits demarcate the thresholds beyond which performance collapses, while phenotypic plasticity allows some species to modify these limits in response to thermal regimes. Understanding these adaptations is crucial for predicting species responses to climate change, modelling distribution under warming scenarios and informing conservation of arthropod biodiversity. Moreover, insights into spider thermal performance have applications in biomimetic design and integrated pest management, where temperature-dependent predatory efficiency can be harnessed to regulate pest populations.
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Thermal Physiology of Spiders publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermal physiology of spiders across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Ectotherm: An organism that relies on external heat sources to regulate its body temperature.
Critical thermal limits: The upper and lower temperature thresholds beyond which normal physiological functions fail.
Thermal performance curve: A graphical representation of how physiological performance varies with temperature.
Acclimation: The physiological adjustment of an organism’s thermal tolerance following exposure to a new temperature regime.
Phenotypic plasticity: The capacity of an organism to alter its physiology or behaviour in response to environmental changes.
Evaporative water loss: The process of water vapour loss through the body surface, often increasing with temperature stress.
References
- Adaptation of the spiders to the environment: the case of some Chilean species. Frontiers in Physiology (2015).
- Thermal preferences of two spider species: an orb-web weaver and a synanthropic funnel-web weaver. The European Zoological Journal (2021).
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