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Nelsen DR, Corbit AG, Chuang A, Deitsch JF, Sitvarin MI, Coyle DR. Veni, vidi, vici? Future spread and ecological impacts of a rapidly expanding invasive predator population. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10728. [PMID: 38020683 PMCID: PMC10659957 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10728] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Economic and ecological consequences of invasive species make biological invasions an influential driver of global change. Monitoring the spread and impacts of non-native species is essential, but often difficult, especially during the initial stages of invasion. The Jorō spider, Trichonephila clavata (L. Koch, 1878, Araneae: Nephilidae), is a large-bodied orb weaver native to Asia, likely introduced to northern Georgia, U.S. around 2010. We investigated the nascent invasion of T. clavata by constructing species distribution models (SDMs) from crowd-sourced data to compare the climate T. clavata experiences in its native range to its introduced range. We found evidence that the climate of T. clavata's native range differs significantly from its introduced range. Species distribution models trained with observations from its native range predict that the most suitable habitats in North America occur north of its current introduced range. Consistent with SDM predictions, T. clavata appears to be spreading faster to the north than to the south. Lastly, we conducted surveys to investigate potential ecological impacts of T. clavata on the diversity of native orb weaving spiders. Importantly, Trichonephila clavata was the most common and abundant species observed in the survey, and was numerically dominant at half of the sites it was present in. Our models also suggest that there is lower native orb weaver species richness and diversity closer to where T. clavata was initially found and where it has been established the longest, though human population density complicates this finding. This early study is the first to forecast how widely this spider may spread in its introduced range and explore its potential ecological impacts. Our results add evidence that T. clavata is an invasive species and deserves much more ecological scrutiny.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R. Nelsen
- Biology and Allied HealthSouthern Adventist UniversityCollegedaleTennesseeUSA
| | - Aaron G. Corbit
- Biology and Allied HealthSouthern Adventist UniversityCollegedaleTennesseeUSA
| | - Angela Chuang
- Department of Entomology and NematologyUniversity of FloridaLake AlfredFloridaUSA
| | - John F. Deitsch
- Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyThe University of Texas at El PasoEl PasoTexasUSA
| | | | - David R. Coyle
- Forestry and Environmental ConservationClemson University College of Agriculture Forestry and Life SciencesClemsonSouth CarolinaUSA
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Naghilou A, Peter K, Millesi F, Stadlmayr S, Wolf S, Rad A, Semmler L, Supper P, Ploszczanski L, Liu J, Burghammer M, Riekel C, Bismarck A, Backus EHG, Lichtenegger H, Radtke C. Insights into the material properties of dragline spider silk affecting Schwann cell migration. Int J Biol Macromol 2023:125398. [PMID: 37330085 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.125398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Dragline silk of Trichonephila spiders has attracted attention in various applications. One of the most fascinating uses of dragline silk is in nerve regeneration as a luminal filling for nerve guidance conduits. In fact, conduits filled with spider silk can measure up to autologous nerve transplantation, but the reasons behind the success of silk fibers are not yet understood. In this study dragline fibers of Trichonephila edulis were sterilized with ethanol, UV radiation, and autoclaving and the resulting material properties were characterized with regard to the silk's suitability for nerve regeneration. Rat Schwann cells (rSCs) were seeded on these silks in vitro and their migration and proliferation were investigated as an indication for the fiber's ability to support the growth of nerves. It was found that rSCs migrate faster on ethanol treated fibers. To elucidate the reasons behind this behavior, the fiber's morphology, surface chemistry, secondary protein structure, crystallinity, and mechanical properties were studied. The results demonstrate that the synergy of dragline silk's stiffness and its composition has a crucial effect on the migration of rSCs. These findings pave the way towards understanding the response of SCs to silk fibers as well as the targeted production of synthetic alternatives for regenerative medicine applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Naghilou
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Karolina Peter
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Material Sciences and Process Engineering, Institute of Physics and Materials Science, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Flavia Millesi
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah Stadlmayr
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sonja Wolf
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anda Rad
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lorenz Semmler
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Paul Supper
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
| | - Leon Ploszczanski
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Material Sciences and Process Engineering, Institute of Physics and Materials Science, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jiliang Liu
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Manfred Burghammer
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Christian Riekel
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 71 avenue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Alexander Bismarck
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Materials Chemistry & Research, Währingerstraße 42, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ellen H G Backus
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Chemistry, Institute of Physical Chemistry, Währingerstraße 42, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Helga Lichtenegger
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Department of Material Sciences and Process Engineering, Institute of Physics and Materials Science, Peter-Jordan-Strasse 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria
| | - Christine Radtke
- Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, 1090 Vienna, Austria; Austrian Cluster for Tissue Regeneration, Vienna, Austria
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