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Predatory Spiders in the Arctic Food Web

Hi Nick.

I'm really enjoying learning more about the wolf spiders and your nice close-up photos of them. Perfect for me since I'm a bit arachnid phobic :-) We do have a "spider catcher" that we use to capture the hairy beasts that transports them safely outside of our house. It allows for close viewing of the spiders but I'm not one to spend much time peering into the container to get a closer look. So, I really like your photos and in particular the one with the boxing gloves!

Looks like you all are having fun and enjoying some good weather up there!

Keep up the great work.

Cheers, Janet

Sat, 06/23/2012 - 06:01

Anonymous

Hi Nick,Just finished catching up on your blog posts. It sure sounds like you are having a wonderful time and thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with the rest of us. I find it fascinating to hear and see the details of how your spider study is being conducted, to learn about your daily life at the camp and see what other scientists are doing as well. Never thought that bird counting would be conducted in the middle of the night!
Glad that you also have the opportunity to take some time to enjoy your surroundings. Your comment about putting on your hiking boots being a mistake made me smile. First time I went to the Arctic in 2005 (to Somerset Island, Nunavut, 74th parallel) we quickly learned to leave our hiking boots behind as chances were we would run into some "mollisol" (the layer of the permafrost taht thaws in summer). People who would not be able to quickly walk through it would simply sink in and then, those trying to help them get out of it would likely start sinking too! A kid even had to leave his boots and pants behind to get unstuck!
I agree with Janet, keep up the great work! Looking forward to continue following your polar adventures!
France Rivet, a colleague polar educator!

Sun, 06/24/2012 - 17:21

Nick LaFave

I'm glad you liked the boxing gloves. I couldn't get arrows to look the way I wanted and found the gloves on accident. These spiders are so small compared to what we see in SC! They are awfully fast though! We are having a ton of fun, and the weather has been outstanding!

Sun, 06/24/2012 - 18:02

Nick LaFave

Hi France,Thanks for following my expedition! It has been so much fun! The hiking boots just don't cut it in a lot of the tundra, but they provide a great break when you get to walk on a bit of dry land. I thought I was on to of the world. The 74th parallel!!! That's very arctic!
Cheers,
Nick