Danish spiders are at the centre of a new citizen science project asking people across Denmark to help researchers collect specimens and information about where they live. The Natural History Museum of Denmark (Statens Naturhistoriske Museum) is launching the first Eddercup during weeks 40 and 41, with the aim of improving scientific knowledge about some of the country’s more than 600 spider species.
The project will focus in particular on small spiders living among fallen leaves on forest floors. Researchers say that, despite the large number of species recorded in Denmark, knowledge about many of them remains limited. The Natural History Museum of Denmark says the project will collect material from habitats across the country.
How the Danish spiders project will work
The first Eddercup will take place during weeks 40 and 41, between late September and early October. Groups can choose a local forest or another area containing trees and fallen leaves and carry out the survey following instructions provided by the museum.
Participants will record conditions at the site, collect spiders and other relevant data, and send the material to researchers for examination. The activity is designed to take around two hours in dry weather and does not require previous knowledge of spiders.
The museum will provide step-by-step instructions and identification guides for spiders and tree species. Participants will later receive information about which spider species were found in the area they surveyed. Participation is free, although groups must provide ordinary materials including string, brushes and a sheet.
The initiative is open to different types of groups, including friends, schoolmates, scouts, associations and people involved in nature education. The Arter biodiversity platform has also published participation details for the project.
Researchers want data from across Denmark
Collecting samples from different parts of the country should allow researchers to compare habitats and better understand which conditions different species prefer.
Frederik Leck Fischer, an arachnologist at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said the geographical spread of participants could substantially expand the material available to researchers.
“I hope that, with the help of the Danes, we can gain much more knowledge about Danish spiders and, with a bit of luck, discover a couple of completely new species.”
The Eddercup is part of Vores Vilde Natur, a wider biodiversity initiative involving the Danish Nature Agency (Naturstyrelsen), the Danish Outdoor Council (Friluftsrådet) and the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
The project is another example of citizen science being used to document biodiversity on a scale that would be difficult for research teams to cover alone. In this case, researchers hope thousands of observations from ordinary woodland areas can provide a clearer picture of Danish spiders, their distribution and the habitats they depend on.
