Spider webs in monitoring of air pollution

Abstract

Biomonitoring is a significant tool of environmental protection strategies. Variety of bioindicators are used worldwide, particularly mosses, lichens and tree leaves. However, they revile many considerable disadvantages, e.g. limitation to vegetative season, moisture demand, exposition to severe weather conditions, limited time of monitoring. Classical impactors, on the other hand, are expensive, cannot be used without supervision and allow only for short-term monitoring. Spider webs, however, reveal features of extraordinary bioindicators. Webs are abundant, easy to collect, costless and can be found all year round, despite vegetative season. Spider silk is a very efficient, non-selective accumulator of contaminants, that allows for long-term monitoring. Thanks to this characteristics, spider webs proved to be immensely useful bioindicators of air pollution. They allow for monitoring of heavy metals, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins, so as assessment of mutagenic activity and anthropopression assessment and indication of dominant source of pollutants. Most of the researches concerning application of spider webs as bioindicators have been conducted in Wrocław, Poland. This paper reviews current knowledge on spider webs in monitoring of air pollution.