Understanding the functioning of terrestrial food webs requires quantitative knowledge of the diversity of prey consumed by spiders, because spiders are major predators in these systems. This project will develop a biochemical technique to analyze rapidly and accurately the diets of wandering spiders. Once the technique is perfected, its feasibility as a tool in field research will be tested by analyzing the feeding relationships in a population of a model generalist predator, the wolf spider Schizocosa oreata. This research uses polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to detect prey proteins in the guts of spiders. %%% Prudent management & conservation of natural communities depends on fundamental understanding of how food webs function. Forest - floor communities are particularly important because they often control rate - limiting processes for forest productivity & growth. The results of this project will allow quantitative analysis of predatory dynamic's in forest floor communities.
