Analysis of Metal Accumulation in Wolf Spiders with Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

High concentrations of metal contaminants can have detrimental effects on biological systems. Detection of these contaminants within species can provide information about the pattern, source, and pathways of metals as they move through and between food chains. Wolf spiders represent a model indicator for metals since they intersect multiple food chains. They also frequently cannibalize and engage in intraguild predation. These feeding behaviors and the trophic position of spiders as apex arthropod predators, make them more likely to concentrate metals. Spider and soil samples were collected from several coal-impacted sites and a residential area to serve as a non-contaminated reference location all within Pennsylvania. The spiders and soil samples are dried, digested in acid, and then are analyzed by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy for a variety of metals. With these results, there will be better insight with heavy metal accumulation in the environments