CHAPTER 3
Respiratory Metabolism
The introduction of habitat-templet thinking (Southwood 1977; Greenslade
1983) dramatically changed the viewpoint of ecologists with regard to the life
history strategies of living organisms. Thereafter, adaptive strategies have
been viewed as the outcome of various co-adapted features which can be
exemplified not only on demographic but also on physiological and behavioural grounds (e.g. SiepelI994). In this chapter, the focus is on the respiratory activity of Mediterranean arthropods. Concern with respiratory activity
stems from the fact that respiration is the most important path of energy loss.
Respirometry can therefore provide a measure of the rate at which animals
use their resources to cope with environmental constraints (Peters 1983). The
respiratory metabolism of arthropods has been used not only to determine
their energy budgets (e.g. Humphreys 1979; Turner 1983) but also to elucidate
various aspects of adaptation to cold (e.g. Block 1977, 1979; SlIJmme 1995), to
estimate other parameters of biological activity and demography (Lebrun
and van Ruymbeke 1971; Stamou 1986b), and to correlate respiratory activity with changing temperature and humidity (e.g. Testerink 1983). Thus,
merging the various aspects of an arthropod's respiratory activity makes it
possible to generate important ecological insights into the animal's adaptive
strategies.
The complex conditions of temperature and humidity permit trade-offs in
the energy allocation of Mediterranean arthropods and hence become the
major determinants of their life history tactics. Under strongly fluctuating
Mediterranean temperatures, regulation of the dissipation of energy through
respiration is apparently of crucial importance for the development of the life
cycle of such invertebrates. This can be assessed by determining metabolic
characteristics, such as the relationship of respiration to live weight, respiration and temperature, as well as by determining acclimation processes that
allow arthropods to withstand the strongly fluctuating thermal regime of
Mediterranean regions. Unfortunately, relevant data are scarce. Therefore, to
explain aspects of life cycle development in relation to short-term oscillating
temperatures the discussion will be based primarily on data presented in
three papers by Argyropoulou and Stamou (1993), Stamou and Iatrou (1993),
and Stamou et al. (1995)
Respiratory Metabolism
The introduction of habitat-templet thinking (Southwood 1977; Greenslade
1983) dramatically changed the viewpoint of ecologists with regard to the life
history strategies of living organisms. Thereafter, adaptive strategies have
been viewed as the outcome of various co-adapted features which can be
exemplified not only on demographic but also on physiological and behavioural grounds (e.g. SiepelI994). In this chapter, the focus is on the respiratory activity of Mediterranean arthropods. Concern with respiratory activity
stems from the fact that respiration is the most important path of energy loss.
Respirometry can therefore provide a measure of the rate at which animals
use their resources to cope with environmental constraints (Peters 1983). The
respiratory metabolism of arthropods has been used not only to determine
their energy budgets (e.g. Humphreys 1979; Turner 1983) but also to elucidate
various aspects of adaptation to cold (e.g. Block 1977, 1979; SlIJmme 1995), to
estimate other parameters of biological activity and demography (Lebrun
and van Ruymbeke 1971; Stamou 1986b), and to correlate respiratory activity with changing temperature and humidity (e.g. Testerink 1983). Thus,
merging the various aspects of an arthropod's respiratory activity makes it
possible to generate important ecological insights into the animal's adaptive
strategies.
The complex conditions of temperature and humidity permit trade-offs in
the energy allocation of Mediterranean arthropods and hence become the
major determinants of their life history tactics. Under strongly fluctuating
Mediterranean temperatures, regulation of the dissipation of energy through
respiration is apparently of crucial importance for the development of the life
cycle of such invertebrates. This can be assessed by determining metabolic
characteristics, such as the relationship of respiration to live weight, respiration and temperature, as well as by determining acclimation processes that
allow arthropods to withstand the strongly fluctuating thermal regime of
Mediterranean regions. Unfortunately, relevant data are scarce. Therefore, to
explain aspects of life cycle development in relation to short-term oscillating
temperatures the discussion will be based primarily on data presented in
three papers by Argyropoulou and Stamou (1993), Stamou and Iatrou (1993),
and Stamou et al. (1995)