Desiccation resistance and water balance in southern African keratin beetles (Coleoptera, Trogidae): the influence of body size and habitat

1998 ◽  
Vol 168 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Le Lagadec ◽  
S. L. Chown ◽  
C. H. Scholtz
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Desiccation Resistance

Thermal developmental plasticity affects body size and water conservation of Drosophila nepalensis from the Western Himalayas

2014 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Parkash ◽  
C. Lambhod ◽  
D. Singh
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Mass Culture ◽  
Growth Temperature ◽  
Water Loss ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Western Himalayas ◽  
Desiccation Resistance

AbstractIn the Western Himalayas, Drosophila nepalensis is more abundant during the colder and drier winter than the warmer rainy season but the mechanistic bases of such adaptations are largely unknown. We tested effects of developmental plasticity on desiccation-related traits (body size, body melanization and water balance traits) that may be consistent with changes in seasonal abundance of this species. D. nepalensis grown at 15°C has shown twofold higher body size, greater melanization (∼15-fold), higher desiccation resistance (∼55 h), hemolymph as well as carbohydrate content (twofold higher) as compared with corresponding values at 25°C. Water loss before succumbing to death was much higher (∼16%) at 15°C than 25°C. Developmental plastic effects on body size are associated with changes in water balance-related traits (bulk water, hemolymph and dehydration tolerance). The role of body melanization was evident from the analysis of assorted darker and lighter flies (from a mass culture of D. nepalensis reared at 21°C) which lacked differences in dry mass but showed differences in desiccation survival hours and rate of water loss. For adult acclimation, we found a slight increase in desiccation resistance of flies reared at lower growth temperature, whereas in flies reared at 25°C such a response was lacking. In D. nepalensis, greater developmental plasticity is consistent with its contrasting levels of seasonal abundance. Finally, in the context of global climate change in the Western Himalayas, D. nepalensis seems vulnerable in the warmer season due to lower adult as well as developmental acclimation potential at higher growth temperature (25°C).

scholarly journals Desiccation resistance and water balance in populations of the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais

2015 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 146-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelsa Maria P. Guedes ◽  
Lucas S. Braga ◽  
Conrado A. Rosi-Denadai ◽  
Raul Narciso C. Guedes
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Sitophilus Zeamais ◽  
Desiccation Resistance ◽  
Maize Weevil

Water‐Balance Characteristics Respond to Changes in Body Size in Subantarctic Weevils

2003 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 634-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Chown ◽  
C. Jaco Klok
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Water Balance

scholarly journals An experimental test of the relationship between melanism and desiccation survival in insects

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhash Rajpurohit ◽  
Lisa Marie Peterson ◽  
Andrew Orr ◽  
Anthony J. Marlon ◽  
Allen G Gibbs
Keyword(s):  
Water Balance ◽  
Experimental Test ◽  
Desiccation Tolerance ◽  
Experimental Evolution ◽  
Drosophila Species ◽  
Desiccation Resistance ◽  
Body Pigmentation ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

We used experimental evolution to test the ?melanism-desiccation? hypothesis, which proposes that dark cuticle in several Drosophila species is an adaptation for increased desiccation tolerance. We selected for dark and light body pigmentation in replicated populations of D. melanogaster and assayed traits related to water balance. We also scored pigmentation and desiccation tolerance in populations selected for desiccation survival. Populations in both selection regimes showed large differences in the traits directly under selection. However, after over 40 generations of pigmentation selection, dark-selected populations were not more desiccation-tolerant than light-selected and control populations, nor did we find significant changes in carbohydrate amounts that could affect desiccation resistance. Body pigmentation of desiccation-selected populations did not differ from control populations after over 140 generations of selection. Our results do not support an important role for melanization in Drosophila water balance.

Variations in Seasonal Nutrition, Thermoregulation and Water Balance in Two New Zealand Populations of the Common Brushtail Possum, Trichosurus Vulpecula (Phalangeridae).

1983 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
CK Williams ◽  
HL Turnbull
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Food Intake ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Urine Concentration ◽  
Brushtail Possum ◽  
Water Turnover ◽  
Common Brushtail Possum

Two populations of common brushtail possum, at Wanganui in the North Island of New Zealand and Westland in the South Island, were compared in aspects of nutrition, thermoregulation and water balance at 2 thermal conditions in controlled-environment rooms. The thermal conditions and adaptation had no influence on nutrition and water balance but caused variation in bodyweight and in rates of food intake and water turnover, both relative to metabolic body size. Although the 2 populations differed greatly in body mass they had different rates of food intake relative to metabolic size, but similar individual rates. Rates of metabolized energy intake followed a similar pattern. Conversely, rates of water turnover relative to metabolic size were similar between populations but differed for individuals. The trend for differences between populations in indices of urine concentration were associated with different patterns of food and water intakes. These differences cannot be explained in terms of body mass increments. The physiological variation between populations was greatly influenced by differences in body size, which accord with Bergmann's rule. The larger size of the Westland animals is advantageous during abstinence from feeding during frequent foul weather, and the smaller size of the Wanganui animals confers advantages in water balance during annual periods of prolonged rainfall deficiency.

scholarly journals Desiccation Resistance in Interspecific Drosophila Crosses: Genetic Interactions and Trait Correlations

Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 151 (4) ◽  
pp. 1493-1502
Author(s):  
Miriam J Hercus ◽  
Ary A Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Genetic Interactions ◽  
Adaptive Divergence ◽  
Interspecific Crosses ◽  
Desiccation Resistance ◽  
Resistance Level ◽  
Reciprocal Crosses ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Hybrid Lines

Abstract We used crosses between two closely related Drosophila species, Drosophila serrata and D. birchii, to examine the genetic basis of desiccation resistance and correlations between resistance, physiological traits, and life-history traits. D. serrata is more resistant to desiccation than D. birchii, and this may help to explain the broader geographical range of the former species. A comparison of F2's from reciprocal crosses indicated higher resistance levels when F2's originated from D. birchii mothers compared to D. serrata mothers. However, backcrosses had a resistance level similar to that of the parental species, suggesting an interaction between X-linked effects in D. serrata that reduce resistance and autosomal effects that increase resistance. Reciprocal differences persisted in hybrid lines set up from the different reciprocal crosses and tested at later generations. Increased desiccation resistance was associated with an increased body size in two sets of hybrid lines and in half-sib groups set up from the F4's after crossing the two species, but size associations were inconsistent in the F2's. None of the crosses provided evidence for a positive association between desiccation resistance and glycogen levels, or evidence for a tradeoff between desiccation resistance and early fecundity. However, fecundity was positively correlated with body size at both the genetic and phenotypic levels. This study illustrates how interspecific crosses may provide information on genetic interactions between traits following adaptive divergence, as well as on the genetic basis of the traits.

scholarly journals Differences in Body Size and Water Balance Strategies between North Carolina and Florida Populations of the Sand Fiddler Crab, Uca Pugilator

2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 560-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay A. Yoder ◽  
Eric J. Rellinger ◽  
Kevin M. Gribbins ◽  
Justin L. Tank ◽  
Brian E. Moore
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Fiddler Crab ◽  
Uca Pugilator
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