Aspects of chemical ecology of Arachnids (Spiders and Harvestmen)

• Grant number: 10/04426-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: August 01, 2010
• End date: December 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Anita Jocelyne Marsaioli
• Grantee: Felipe Christoff Wouters
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this project is study the chemical ecology of spiders and harvestmen, two orders among the arachnids class. This work comprises the study of the chemical ecology of spiders and their relationship with parasitoid wasps and, besides this, the chemical characterization of the defensive secretions of harvestmen.To the study of the chemical ecology of spiders, we'll analysef the semiochemicals emitted by the individuals of studied species, by their webs and by the parasitoid's wasp cocoon. We will also investigate the chemical composition of the parasitoid wasp's venom and the compounds secreted by the larva inside the spider's organism, through the spider's haemolymph analysis.The work related to harvestmen will consist in chemical characterization of the defensive secretion of studied species, followed by synthesis of the identified compounds and efficacy tests of these chemical defenses.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

WOUTERS, Felipe Christoff. Harvestmen semiochemicals of the family Gonyleptidae (Arachnida : Opiliones). 2011. Master's Dissertation - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Química Campinas, SP.