124
Synthesis
logy probably entailing low feeding, digestive, metabolic and growth rates is
coupled with an incompetence to store energy and mainly with a low
response to changing temperature and a large tolerance range. Constrained
physiology may drive the development of conservative characteristics such as
slow development, relatively long generation time, decreased adult mortality,
longevity of adults, and lower investment into reproduction. Thus, moderate
maintenance cost and high adult survival in conjunction with density dependent demographies ensure optimal local population size and persistence of
Mediterranean arthropods under the constraints of the Mediterranean environment.
Again, constrained physiology involves high food specialisation, rapid
response to changing temperature and humidity regimes, minimum and
maximum temperature and humidity thresholds, as well as historical constraints such as precocity (which is beneficial to a large clutch size) and relatively small body size, and it relates to arthropods' conformism. Indeed, as
shown in this section, synchronising of feeding activity, seasonal shifting in
daily activity, sequential activity and developmental patterns, continuous
presence of eggs in the abdomen of females (which could be laid opportunistically in response to temporary favourable conditions) combined with
circumscribed oviposition and population reserves such as accumulated subsequent instars in winter and/or eggs and early instars in summer result in
generational synchrony, forcing population dynamics to conform with the
seasonality of the climate. Likewise, water relation, feeding habits and density dependence ensure optimal exploitation of resources. Obviously, low metabolism and vast tolerance ranges, inducing conservatism, coupled with environmental thresholds, rapid response to changing temperature and humidity
regimes, and narrow food utilization, inducing conformism, are favoured
forces driving life history strategies of Mediterranean arthropods. As has
been shown, adaptive emphasis is put for the most part on low maintenance
cost, efficient exploitation of resources, adult longevity, and low reproductive
mortality counterbalanced by low viability of the immature stages.
Synthesis
logy probably entailing low feeding, digestive, metabolic and growth rates is
coupled with an incompetence to store energy and mainly with a low
response to changing temperature and a large tolerance range. Constrained
physiology may drive the development of conservative characteristics such as
slow development, relatively long generation time, decreased adult mortality,
longevity of adults, and lower investment into reproduction. Thus, moderate
maintenance cost and high adult survival in conjunction with density dependent demographies ensure optimal local population size and persistence of
Mediterranean arthropods under the constraints of the Mediterranean environment.
Again, constrained physiology involves high food specialisation, rapid
response to changing temperature and humidity regimes, minimum and
maximum temperature and humidity thresholds, as well as historical constraints such as precocity (which is beneficial to a large clutch size) and relatively small body size, and it relates to arthropods' conformism. Indeed, as
shown in this section, synchronising of feeding activity, seasonal shifting in
daily activity, sequential activity and developmental patterns, continuous
presence of eggs in the abdomen of females (which could be laid opportunistically in response to temporary favourable conditions) combined with
circumscribed oviposition and population reserves such as accumulated subsequent instars in winter and/or eggs and early instars in summer result in
generational synchrony, forcing population dynamics to conform with the
seasonality of the climate. Likewise, water relation, feeding habits and density dependence ensure optimal exploitation of resources. Obviously, low metabolism and vast tolerance ranges, inducing conservatism, coupled with environmental thresholds, rapid response to changing temperature and humidity
regimes, and narrow food utilization, inducing conformism, are favoured
forces driving life history strategies of Mediterranean arthropods. As has
been shown, adaptive emphasis is put for the most part on low maintenance
cost, efficient exploitation of resources, adult longevity, and low reproductive
mortality counterbalanced by low viability of the immature stages.