Thermal Preference of Tailwater versus Nontailwater Populations of Etheostoma spectabile

Copeia ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 (1) ◽  
pp. 226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison A. Anderson ◽  
William H. Neill
Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 310
Author(s):  
Dariusz Krzysztof Małek ◽  
Marcin Czarnoleski

The thermal environment influences insect performance, but the factors affecting insect thermal preferences are rarely studied. We studied Callosobruchus maculatus seed beetles and hypothesized that thermal preferences are influenced by water balance, with individuals with limited water reserves preferring cooler habitats to reduce evaporative water loss. Adult C. maculatus, in their flightless morph, do not consume food or water, but a copulating male provides a female with a nuptial gift of ejaculate containing nutrients and water. We hypothesized that gift recipients would prefer warmer habitats than gift donors and that both sexes would plastically adjust their thermal preferences according to the size of the transferred gift. We measured the thermal preference in each sex in individuals that were mated once or were unmated. In the mated group, we measured the sizes of the nuptial gifts and calculated proportional body mass changes in each mate during copulation. Supporting the role of water balance in thermal preference, females preferred warmer habitats than males. Nevertheless, thermal preferences in either sex were not affected by mating status or gift size. It is likely that high rates of mating and gift transfers in C. maculatus living under natural conditions promoted the evolution of constitutive sex-dependent thermal preferences.


Ecosphere ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e02033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Kirchhof ◽  
Robyn S. Hetem ◽  
Hilary M. Lease ◽  
Donald B. Miles ◽  
Duncan Mitchell ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
N.F. Addeo ◽  
C. Li ◽  
T.W. Rusch ◽  
A.J. Dickerson ◽  
A.M. Tarone ◽  
...  

Population growth and rapid urbanisation have increased the global demand for animal feed and protein sources. Therefore, traditional animal feed production should be increased through the use of alternative nutrient sources. Insects as feed are beginning to fill this need. One such insect is the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). However, to more effectively mass produce the black soldier fly, a better understanding of its thermal biology is needed. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of age, size, and sex on adult black soldier fly thermal preference. The thermal preference of adult black soldier flies was determined by exposing flies to a thermal gradient with a range of surface temperatures and monitoring their positions over time. An aluminium plate was used to create a linear thermal gradient where surface temperatures ranged from ~15-60 °C. Flies were distinguished by age (1-d-post-emergence vs 7-d-post-emergence), size (large vs small) and sex (male vs female) to assess whether thermal preference differed by specific life-history traits. Thermal preference for 7-d-post-emergence adults was significantly lower (19.2 °C) than 1-d-post-emergence adults (28.7 °C), respectively. Similarly, small adults selected significantly cooler (21.1 °C) temperatures than large adults (26.9 °C). No significant differences in thermal preferences were found between sex, regardless of age or size. In fact, males and females had similar thermal preference of 23.8 and 24.2 °C, respectively. This study reveals that multiple life-history traits of adult black soldier fly affect their thermal preference, and thus should be taken into consideration by mass rearing facilities to optimize production.


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