On the vapour trail of an atmospheric imprint in insects
| Autor: | Monica Mejia-Chang, Roger G. W. Northfield, Howard Griffiths, M. D. Farnon Ellwood |
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| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Ecological niche Abiotic component animal structures biology Physiology Ecology Climate Change Niche differentiation Humidity Cockroaches Arthropod cuticle Oxygen Isotopes biology.organism_classification Atmospheric temperature Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) Hemolymph Animals Volatilization General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Desiccation Periplaneta |
| Zdroj: | Biology Letters. 7:601-604 |
| ISSN: | 1744-957X 1744-9561 |
| Popis: | Terrestrial arthropods, at constant risk from desiccation, are highly sensitive to atmospheric temperature and humidity. A physiological marker of these abiotic conditions could highlight phenotypic adaptations, indicate niche partitioning, and predict responses to climate change for a group representing three-quarters of the Earth's animal species. We show that the18O composition of insect haemolymph is such a measure, providing a dynamic and quantitatively predictable signal for respiratory gas exchange and inputs from atmospheric humidity. Using American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) under defined experimental conditions, we show that insects respiring at low humidity demonstrate the expected enrichment in the18O composition of haemolymph because of evaporation. At high humidity, however, diffusionalinfluxof atmospheric water vapour into the animal forces haemolymph to become depleted in18O. Additionally, using cockroaches sampled from natural habitats, we show that the haemolymph18O signature is transferred to the organic material of the insect's exoskeleton. Insect cuticle, therefore, exhibits the mean atmospheric conditions surrounding the animals prior to moulting. This discovery will help to define the climatic tolerances of species and their habitat preferences, and offers a means of quantifying the balance between niche partitioning and ‘neutral’ processes in shaping complex tropical forest communities. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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