Ecology of different species of spiders have been studied and analyzed in the original article. Spiders which were trapped and fossilized inside amber were magnified to be compared to different species of spiders during and after the period in which the spider was fossilized. The spider being studied in the original article was found out to be about thirty million years old (Cenozoic Period). Biological monocular microscopes can be used to magnify and analyze slide preparations of the spider. Researchers using biological monocular microscopes can use a variety of magnification for use with the slide.

What is Amber?

Amber is a type of tree sap that is yellowish in color. In its early form, amber is in liquid form which enables it to trap and completely cover organisms before it hardens. It is not mineralized.   There are many types of amber: Baltic, Dominican, Blue amber, delatynite, and oltu stone. The Blue amber is a rare coloration and is commonly found in the Dominican Republic and is very valuable to collectors.

Amber has been useful in providing scientist a window to past ecosystems. Fossilized specimens trapped in amber are useful in the study of ecosystem during a certain era as well as the environment. Amber provides a collection of valuable information to the researchers.  Aside from its value in the research community, amber is also used in jewelries and other ornaments.

In the original article, the ancient spider that was fossilized in amber was compared to 671 species of spiders, the largest scale ever to be made in a study. The researchers were able to compare size distributions among the different species as well as scientific insights on the environment they were living in.  It was found out in the original article and by using biological monocular microscopes, that there were distinct hunting traits to each species and that there were comparably more web-spinning spiders found in Baltic ambers compared to Dominican ambers. There was no difference, on the other hand, among hunting spiders between the two regions. The research result in the original article also claimed that the difference in size/number was due to the amber producing trees in the region.

The presence of larger web-spinners, according to the original article, was due to the structural complexity of Baltic amber trees compared to Dominican ones. Since Baltic trees are described as wide and bushy in the original article, it makes sense that more web-spinners are numerous in this environment. Dominican amber trees, on the other hand, are smooth, thin, and long.

This specific amber study proved for the first time, that spiders that were fossilized many, many years ago (30 million years) can be used to scientifically compare with other species. Before, it was not yet known or proven that amber resin that far back is able to uniformly trap organisms.   Biological monocular microscopes are handy tools in the laboratory. It can be used to prove or disprove a theory based on the findings on a specimen. More on this topic