An Overlooked Habitat-Dependent Link Between Metabolism and Water Loss in Reptiles.

IF 3.7 1区 生物学 Q1 ZOOLOGY
Shahar Dubiner, Shai Meiri, Eran Levin
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Maintaining the body's water balance is crucial for function and survival in all animals. Humidity conditions vary between different habitats and greatly affect an animal's evaporative water loss (EWL). Species inhabiting arid regions have adaptions to minimize water loss, which those adapted to life in humid regions may lack. Therefore, the physiology of species from different habitats could respond differentially to acute exposure to dry conditions. We measured the EWL and resting metabolic rates (RMRs) of 12 Israeli squamate species, from either mesic or xeric habitats, spanning four orders of magnitude in size. We treated the animals to dry and humid air simulating natural conditions (vapor pressure deficits 3 and 1 kPa, respectively) at an ecologically relevant temperature of 25°C. EWL rates were higher in dry air, and the effect was stronger in mesic species. EWL of mesic species in humid air is similar to EWL of xeric species in dry air, indicating similar EWL when tested under settings that match each species' natural conditions. In dry air, the RMR of small-bodied (<5 g) mesic species increased, whereas those of some small-bodied xeric species decreased. Small mesic species might be displaying stress from unnaturally dry conditions, whereas small xeric species possibly display an adaptation to minimize EWL by lowering RMR, thereby respiration rates. Physiological measurements are usually taken in dry air, and our results suggest previous experiments may contain a methodological bias. Future ecophysiological research needs to consider ambient humidity, by either varying experimental humidity to match natural conditions, or considering possible effects of humidity during analysis and interpretation of experiments and models.

爬行动物新陈代谢和水分流失之间被忽视的依赖栖息地的联系。
维持体内水分平衡对所有动物的机能和生存都至关重要。不同栖息地的湿度条件不同,对动物的蒸发失水(EWL)有很大影响。生活在干旱地区的物种具有减少水分流失的适应性,而那些适应潮湿地区生活的物种可能缺乏这种适应性。因此,不同生境的物种对急性暴露于干燥条件下的生理反应是不同的。我们测量了12种以色列鳞类动物的EWL和静息代谢率(RMRs),这些物种分别来自中旱生境,大小跨越4个数量级。我们将动物置于模拟自然条件的干燥和潮湿空气中(蒸汽压差分别为3和1 kPa),生态相关温度为25°C。在干燥空气中,EWL率较高,且对mesic物种的影响更大。湿润空气中mesic物种的EWL与干燥空气中干燥物种的EWL相似,表明在与每个物种的自然条件相匹配的设置下测试时EWL相似。在干燥空气中,小体(
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来源期刊
CiteScore
6.40
自引率
12.10%
发文量
81
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: The official journal of the International Society of Zoological Sciences focuses on zoology as an integrative discipline encompassing all aspects of animal life. It presents a broader perspective of many levels of zoological inquiry, both spatial and temporal, and encourages cooperation between zoology and other disciplines including, but not limited to, physics, computer science, social science, ethics, teaching, paleontology, molecular biology, physiology, behavior, ecology and the built environment. It also looks at the animal-human interaction through exploring animal-plant interactions, microbe/pathogen effects and global changes on the environment and human society. Integrative topics of greatest interest to INZ include: (1) Animals & climate change (2) Animals & pollution (3) Animals & infectious diseases (4) Animals & biological invasions (5) Animal-plant interactions (6) Zoogeography & paleontology (7) Neurons, genes & behavior (8) Molecular ecology & evolution (9) Physiological adaptations
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