Spiders are fascinating in their own right, and also are major predators in terrestrial food webs. This course examines the ecology and behavior of spiders as model predators in systems ranging from undisturbed forests and meadows to agroecosystems and the urban landscape. While focusing on spiders, the course also intertwines two general sub-themes: (1) the advantages of employing diverse approaches (e.g. field and laboratory experiments, non-manipulative observations, and meta-analyses) in ecological and behavioral research; and (2) the strengths, and limitations, of using model organisms to develop and test theory.