Search

Methods for using spider webs as passive air samplers have been developed over recent years and reported in more than a dozen articles. In this article, we present the typical procedures followed when using this new tool and critically review its application in air pollution assessment. To understand the state of research and application of spider webs in this field, we describe some advantages and disadvantages of their use in the analyses of air contaminants. The aim is to summarize the current knowledge on this subject, highlight gaps in the present studies, and arouse the interest of scientists on this issue. The increased effort could result in the standardization of the method at the national and international level. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:32–44. © 2022 SETAC KEY POINTS: This review proves that spider webs can be successfully used in biomonitoring studies of air pollution, and they give good results in terms of concentration of potentially toxic elements as well as PAHs.Despite the great potential of spider webs, it seems it will still be a long time before this tool becomes widely used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this pilot study was to test spider webs as a fast tool for magnetic biomonitoring of air pollution. The study involved the investigation of webs made by four types of spiders: Pholcus phalangioides (Pholcidae), Eratigena atrica and Agelena labirynthica (Agelenidae) and Linyphia triangularis (Linyphiidae). These webs were obtained from outdoor and indoor study sites. Compared to the clean reference webs, an increase was observed in the values of magnetic susceptibility in the webs sampled from both indoor and outdoor sites, which indicates contamination by anthropogenically produced pollution particles that contain ferrimagnetic iron minerals. This pilot study has demonstrated that spider webs are able to capture particulate matter in a manner that is equivalent to flora-based bioindicators applied to date (such as mosses, lichens, leaves). They also have additional advantages; for example, they can be generated in isolated clean habitats, and exposure can be monitored in indoor and outdoor locations, at any height and for any period of time. Moreover, webs are ubiquitous in an anthropogenic, heavily polluted environment, and they can be exposed throughout the year. As spider webs accumulate pollutants to which humans are exposed, they become a reliable source of information about the quality of the environment. Therefore, spider webs are recommended for magnetic biomonitoring of airborne pollution and for the assessment of the environment because they are non-destructive, low-cost, sensitive and efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ecological Chemistry & Engineering S / Chemia i Inzynieria Ekologiczna S is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Air pollution is monitored mainly in urban or industrial areas, even if it is known that in rural ones, low emission can significantly worsen air quality. Hence, cheap and easily accessible methods of monitoring are needed. Recently, spider webs biomonitoring is getting popular, however, there is no information about its comparison with active methods. In this study, PTEs accumulated on spider webs were compared with results from continuous particulate monitor (CPM). Generally, higher potentially toxic elements concentrations were noted in spider web, with exception in the case of Zn. Zn may be present rather in smaller fractions, hence it needs more time for accumulation on spider web while it is easily collected by CPM. Higher concentrations of other elements on spider webs may result from formation of aggregates which could not be reported in PM10 sampling (CPM). What is more, the order of the most and the least accumulated elements were similar and the percentage share of studied elements was coherent in most cases, proving that this new tool prospers to become commonly used in biomonitoring. Additionally, to identify possible sources of pollution air backward trajectories and trajectory frequencies for Kotórz were prepared based on the HYSPLIT model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the comparison of heavy metals accumulation in spider webs from Agelenidae family (Eratigena atrica and Agelena labyrinthica) and lichens Hypogymnia physodes, exposed to pollution for two months. Webs were obtained from the laboratory-reared spiders and stretched on Petri dish while lichens were transplanted from Stobrawa Landscape Park into the study area. Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb and As were determined in both biomonitors and the elevated values indicated the impact of the copper smelter and surrounding roads. Our study revealed that webs were more sensitive than lichens to emissions of pollutants, and for all of the studied elements, the determined concentrations were much higher for spider webs. The results of similarity tests showed a clear difference among the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Ni and As in lichens and spider webs, with the exception of Pb, suggesting that this element could be accumulated in a similar way by both bioindicators. These differences are probably due to their morphological and ecological dissimilarities suggesting that spider webs should be favorably applied where the use of lichens is improper due to the drought, which is an unfavorable condition for accumulation of elements in lichens, or their limited uptake of elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]