VI. DESERT ARTHROPODS
371
desert arthropods. What, for example, triggers the sudden nightly onset
of activity in the desert cockroach? Does their response to a humidity
gradient depend upon their own water resources at the time? These are
important questions concerning the insects' biology and are not difficult
to investigate. Similar as well as different questions arise about most other
desert arthropods, and exploration of the field will be well worthwhile.
VIII. Conclusion
In this chapter we have considered insects such as domestic cockroaches,
blowflies, tsetse flies, and locusts, as well as other more strictly desert
forms. The reason is clear; although there has been a developing interest
in desert arthropods during recent years there is still a great dearth of
information about their comparative physiology, behavior, and ecology.
Fortunately, many of the physiological processes involved are probably
common to most insects, so that the use of information derived from nondesert species is not likely to lead to error. On the other hand, several behavioral and phenological aspects of the biology of desert forms can only be
studied in deserts, making use of the species that live there, and much
remains to be done in this regard. What seem to be some of the main opportunities and needs for further inquiry have been mentioned in the body of
this chapter. They include comparative work on integumental structure in
relation to permeability; on almost any aspect of the heat and water relationships of noninsectan arthropods; on the relationship between 0 2 uptake,
metabolic substrates, and water balance; on the factors which determine
body temperature in natural conditions; and, by no means least, on orientation mechanisms in relation to distribution and movement within the
habitat.
Deserts have been called extremely terrestrial environments, and indeed
they are by definition drier than elsewhere and are often exceedingly hot.
For some aspects of comparative physiology, therefore, desert species provide admirable material, and if we are interested in the adaptations of animals to terrestrial life it may well be that the best place to look is where
terrestrialness is greatest. In this way the potentialities of various kinds
of animal organization are displayed for the investigator to the best advantage. Desert arthropods, for example, include species with the most
efficiently waterproofed cuticles, lending themselves to the analysis of a
physiological mechanism which is of general significance. Others have the
power of water vapor absorption well developed and may prove to be valuable in attempts to understand the mechanism of that process.
On the other hand, there is great structural and physiological diversity
371
desert arthropods. What, for example, triggers the sudden nightly onset
of activity in the desert cockroach? Does their response to a humidity
gradient depend upon their own water resources at the time? These are
important questions concerning the insects' biology and are not difficult
to investigate. Similar as well as different questions arise about most other
desert arthropods, and exploration of the field will be well worthwhile.
VIII. Conclusion
In this chapter we have considered insects such as domestic cockroaches,
blowflies, tsetse flies, and locusts, as well as other more strictly desert
forms. The reason is clear; although there has been a developing interest
in desert arthropods during recent years there is still a great dearth of
information about their comparative physiology, behavior, and ecology.
Fortunately, many of the physiological processes involved are probably
common to most insects, so that the use of information derived from nondesert species is not likely to lead to error. On the other hand, several behavioral and phenological aspects of the biology of desert forms can only be
studied in deserts, making use of the species that live there, and much
remains to be done in this regard. What seem to be some of the main opportunities and needs for further inquiry have been mentioned in the body of
this chapter. They include comparative work on integumental structure in
relation to permeability; on almost any aspect of the heat and water relationships of noninsectan arthropods; on the relationship between 0 2 uptake,
metabolic substrates, and water balance; on the factors which determine
body temperature in natural conditions; and, by no means least, on orientation mechanisms in relation to distribution and movement within the
habitat.
Deserts have been called extremely terrestrial environments, and indeed
they are by definition drier than elsewhere and are often exceedingly hot.
For some aspects of comparative physiology, therefore, desert species provide admirable material, and if we are interested in the adaptations of animals to terrestrial life it may well be that the best place to look is where
terrestrialness is greatest. In this way the potentialities of various kinds
of animal organization are displayed for the investigator to the best advantage. Desert arthropods, for example, include species with the most
efficiently waterproofed cuticles, lending themselves to the analysis of a
physiological mechanism which is of general significance. Others have the
power of water vapor absorption well developed and may prove to be valuable in attempts to understand the mechanism of that process.
On the other hand, there is great structural and physiological diversity