Date of Award:

5-1-1989

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biology

Department name when degree awarded

Biology/Ecology

Committee Chair(s)

James A. MacMahon

Committee

James A. MacMahon

Committee

Charles Hawkins

Committee

Vincent Tepidino

Abstract

The metabolic rates and water relations of five closely related grasshopper species in the genus Trimerotropis were examined. Each grasshopper species was collected from several sites to allow interpopulation comparisons of their physiological traits. At 20°C, interspecific differences in metabolic rate were not found. At 30°C, T. verruculata suffusa had the greatest metabolic rate of all five species. Significant interpopulation differences in metabolic rate at 20 and 30°C were observed for each species. In general, little of the variation in grasshopper metabolic rates was associated with factors reported to affect metabolism (e.g., habitat elevation, latitude, body mass). Significant differences in water loss rates of grasshoppers were not observed between species. Interpopulation differences in water loss rate were found for each species tested, but generally did not correlate with presumed degree of habitat water stress. Moreover, water loss rates of grasshoppers were not strongly correlated with body mass. Measured differences in metabolic and water loss rates of grasshoppers may be due to factors other than environmental or taxonomic differences. Instead, observed differences may be "day effects" (i.e. artifacts of when the measurements were made) because all individuals from a given site were measured on the same day. Metabolic measurements made on mealworms suggest that day effects may be real. It was concluded that unknown measurement effects may confound measurements of arthropod water loss and metabolism, and further experimentation to evaluate their importance is warranted.

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