Spotlight

Messing About with Spiders

Not all predators in the spider and insect world come armed with venom glands. A prominent Canterbury example goes crashing through the undergrowth equipped with nothing more threatening than a camera.

For spider paragon and Zoology Department research associate Dr Simon Pollard, life is becoming increasingly busy, something he attributes to his "gentle touch" with the eight-legged creatures.

On one hand Dr Pollard is under siege from some of the world's top natural history magazines for his photographs of goings-on in the bug kingdom; on the other, he has been commissioned by San Francisco-based biotechnology company Genencor International to extract digestive enzymes from spiders, to be analysed to discover their potential uses in pharmaceutical and commercial products.

Keen on zoology since the age of seven, Dr Pollard said a desire to study that discipline at university had been fuelled by his uncle Jim Pollard, a Reader in Psychology at Canterbury who specialises in animal social behaviour and sociobiology.

"My interest never ever varied once. Jim had answered all my questions over the years about bugs and said universities were fascinating places. I got interested in spiders at an entomology course here in 1977 and then completed my MSc and PhD under the supervision of Robert Jackson, who has become my mentor."

Near the end of a spell carrying out post-doctoral research in Edmonton, Canada, Dr Pollard had an article on spider feeding published in the magazine Natural History.

"It happened that Natural History, which is very widely-read, was an in-flight magazine on a US airline. One of Genencor's senior scientists was on a plane and picked up the magazine to read. I was just about to leave for the Philippines when he rang me up and then flew me to San Francisco to talk about my work. On my return to the States, I was offered a contract with the company to extract digestive enzymes from spiders.

"For my PhD, I developed techniques to help me understand the mechanics of how spiders feed. Spiders secrete digestive enzymes into their prey and once the prey is dissolved, suck the nutrients up. I will use some of the techniques developed during my PhD and post-doctoral research to extract the enzymes for analysis.

"There will be some degree of phylogenetic screening, since different spiders feed on different prey in a huge diversity of habitats. Digestive enzymes from a tropical spider may differ from those from a high altitude spider, since the latter are effective at low temperatures. The two may have very different applications."

Introduced spiders, including tropical species, would be used in the research and would most likely vary in body length from 5mm to 25mm.

"Initially, I will try to induce larger species to regurgitate digestive enzymes, since they are physically easier to handle and produce more fluid.

"The technique involves electrically stimulating the mouth parts to induce regurgitation, but that may not always produce the enzymes needed. Sometimes the venom glands contract and venom may get mixed in with the enzymes, as may saliva too."

Dr Pollard is now well-known in the US for his photography. Dramatic close-up photographs of spiders from New Zealand and tropical spiders have been starring in "Spiders!", an extensive exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.But it has only been in the last few years that Dr Pollard's dabblings in photography have blossomed.

"In 1990 I started playing around with basic equipment. New Zealand Geographic liked my early photographs and in 1991 commissioned me for an article on spiders. So, I went out and bought the best equipment I could get and used the opportunity to teach myself about taking close-ups. When I went overseas, I began taking more photographs and ended up in New York with two agencies haggling over which one would represent me!

And his secret recipe for successful close-ups?

"I try to think of myself as a small bug with a good eye and well-developed sense of the macabre moving through a bug's world."

Dr Pollard was recently flown to Washington DC to present a lecture at the Smithsonian Museum entitled "Lifestyles of the Small and Hairy: Finding a Meal and Finding a Mate". The Smithsonian is planning to fly him back later this year and next year to convene some workshops on photography, and the bugs of Borneo and China are likely to have him moving through their world next May and June if a National Geographic Research Grant submitted by his Canadian post-doctoral host is successful.

Paul Gorman
University of Canterbury

Paul Gorman University of Canterbury