Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3186-6206

Date of Award

8-31-2026

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Sciences

First Advisor

Helen C. Poynton

Abstract

Spiders are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on the planet with over 53,000 species described as of 2026. They provide a suite of ecosystem services including their regulation of problematic pests in agricultural systems, appearing in high biomasses across a breadth of ecological niches. While beneficial as pest regulators, they are also susceptible to the same management techniques as pest organisms and are especially vulnerable to chemical control. Cranberry production in Massachusetts likely benefits from spider ecosystem services, but diversity research on spiders in these systems is limited. This study compares the diversity of spider populations from an active cranberry agroecosystem (Milestone) to those from a cranberry bog undergoing restoration into a naturally functioning wetland (Windswept) on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, sampled across a one-month period in August 2024. A suite of collection methods, including sweep netting, insect vacuum sampling, hand collection, and pitfall trapping, were utilized to capture a diverse spider assemblage. We identified mature specimens using dichotomous keys and supplemented spider identification with cytochrome oxidase I (COI) genetic sequencing. We also performed toxicity assays on large Lycosid spider populations from each system type, using the pyrethroid pesticide formulation FanFare (bifenthrin), a chemical applied at Milestone during the growing season in which samples were collected. Results show more abundant and diverse spider taxa present at the Windswept site, with toxicity curves showing greater sensitivity to FanFare. Spider assemblages were also very different between the two locations, despite Windswept being in the very early stages of ecosystem restoration. Our results suggest that active management negatively impacts beneficial, non-target spider populations in active cranberry production. We also provide novel details regarding spider biodiversity in both actively managed and restored wetland systems and establish the first published list of its kind on spiders in Massachusetts active cranberry bogs.

Comments

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