Terrestrial spiders shake up aquatic ecosystems, altering food webs and decomposition.
Predators like spiders can impact the food chain in both land and water ecosystems. In a study with bromeliads of different sizes, spiders reduced the number of water predators like damselflies and beetles. Surprisingly, spiders also increased decomposition rates in the water, possibly by adding nutrients from their waste and prey. This shows that land predators can affect how nutrients move between different ecosystems.