Samuel Evans

University of British Columbia, Zoology, Graduate Student

The University of Akron, Biology, Graduate Student

Rice University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Research Technician

Miami University, Zoology, Undergraduate

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I am a biologist with strengths in the natural history of terrestrial arthropods, as well as a putative background in statistics and modeling. My long-term interests lie in addressing fundamental questions in evolutionary biology while building conceptual bridges to other fields.

As an undergraduate at Miami University, I studied the effects of herbicide exposure on the activity, survival, and intra- and interspecific behaviors (as mediated by infochemicals) within a predatory guild of wolf spiders and a carabid beetle.

My master's research at the University of Akron involved building a simulation model to study the mechanics of foraging success in orb-weaving spiders.

Additionally, I was fortunate to spend the summer of 2012 at Rice University as a research technician. There, I assisted in projects investigating adaptive introgression in sunflowers, as well as the influence of grass-endophyte symbioses on plant and arthropod community assembly.

As of January 2014, I am a PhD student in the lab of Dr. Wayne Maddison at the University of British Columbia, where we study the evolution of jumping spiders using a variety of molecular phylogenetics techniques.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Supervisors: Dr. Todd A. Blackledge, Dr. Ann L. Rypstra, and Dr. Wayne P. Maddison

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Papers by Samuel Evans

Glyphosate-based herbicide has contrasting effects on prey capture by two co-occurring wolf spider species

Animals use chemical cues for signaling between species. However, anthropogenic chemicals might i... more Animals use chemical cues for signaling between species. However, anthropogenic chemicals might interrupt this natural chemical information flow, with potential impacts on predator–prey interactions. Our goal was to explore how Buccaneer(R) Plus, a common herbicide similar to Round-up(R) (active ingredient glyphosate), affected the interactions between intraguild predators. The wolf spider Pardosa milvina (Hentz, 1844) is numerically dominant in agricultural systems across the eastern United States, and often falls prey to or competes with the larger wolf spider, Hogna helluo (Walckenaer, 1837) and/or the carabid beetle, Scarites quadriceps (Chaudoir, 1843). We tested the effects of chemical cues from these intraguild predators and exposure to herbicide on the activity, emigration, and survival of P. milvina using a full-factorial laboratory experiment. Both predator cues and herbicide led to a decrease in movement by P. milvina. However, although H. helluo cues alone decreased movement, S. quadriceps cues only decreased movement when combined with herbicide. These results indicate that predation risk and herbicide application likely interact in complex ways to affect the movement of a major arthropod predator in agricultural systems, and thus may have complex effects on the food web.

Predator cues and an herbicide affect activity and emigration in an agrobiont wolf spider

Animals use chemical cues for signaling between species. However, anthropogenic chemicals might i... more Animals use chemical cues for signaling between species. However, anthropogenic chemicals might interrupt this natural chemical information flow, with potential impacts on predator-prey interactions. Our goal was to explore how Buccaneer Ò Plus, a common herbicide similar to Round-up Ò (active ingredient glyphosate), affected the interactions between intraguild predators. The wolf spider Pardosa milvina (Hentz, 1844) is numerically dominant in agricultural systems across the eastern United States, and often falls prey to or competes with the larger wolf spider, Hogna helluo (Walckenaer, 1837) and/or the carabid beetle, Scarites quadriceps (Chaudoir, 1843). We tested the effects of chemical cues from these intraguild predators and exposure to herbicide on the activity, emigration, and survival of P. milvina using a full-factorial laboratory experiment. Both predator cues and herbicide led to a decrease in movement by P. milvina. However, although H. helluo cues alone decreased movement, S. quadriceps cues only decreased movement when combined with herbicide. These results indicate that predation risk and herbicide application likely interact in complex ways to affect the movement of a major arthropod predator in agricultural systems, and thus may have complex effects on the food web.

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Effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on mate location in a wolf spider that inhabits agroecosystems

Exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide affects agrobiont predatory arthropod behaviour and long-term survival

Ecotoxicology, Jan 1, 2010

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Talks by Samuel Evans

Can orb-weaving spiders adaptively alter web area in response to hunger level? Predictions of a simulation model

Influences of an herbicide on predatory agrobiont arthropod activity and interactions

Glyphosate-based herbicide has contrasting effects on prey capture by two co-occurring wolf spider species

Predator cues and an herbicide affect activity and emigration in an agrobiont wolf spider

Animals use chemical cues for signaling between species. However, anthropogenic chemicals might i... more Animals use chemical cues for signaling between species. However, anthropogenic chemicals might interrupt this natural chemical information flow, with potential impacts on predator-prey interactions. Our goal was to explore how Buccaneer Ò Plus, a common herbicide similar to Round-up Ò (active ingredient glyphosate), affected the interactions between intraguild predators. The wolf spider Pardosa milvina (Hentz, 1844) is numerically dominant in agricultural systems across the eastern United States, and often falls prey to or competes with the larger wolf spider, Hogna helluo (Walckenaer, 1837) and/or the carabid beetle, Scarites quadriceps (Chaudoir, 1843). We tested the effects of chemical cues from these intraguild predators and exposure to herbicide on the activity, emigration, and survival of P. milvina using a full-factorial laboratory experiment. Both predator cues and herbicide led to a decrease in movement by P. milvina. However, although H. helluo cues alone decreased movement, S. quadriceps cues only decreased movement when combined with herbicide. These results indicate that predation risk and herbicide application likely interact in complex ways to affect the movement of a major arthropod predator in agricultural systems, and thus may have complex effects on the food web.

Download

Effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on mate location in a wolf spider that inhabits agroecosystems

Exposure to a glyphosate-based herbicide affects agrobiont predatory arthropod behaviour and long-term survival

Ecotoxicology, Jan 1, 2010

Download

Can orb-weaving spiders adaptively alter web area in response to hunger level? Predictions of a simulation model

Influences of an herbicide on predatory agrobiont arthropod activity and interactions

Samuel Evans

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