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Respiratory physiology and water relations of three species of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Author(s) -
Quinlan Michael C.,
Lighton JohN. R. B.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3032.1999.00140.x
Subject(s) - biology , hymenoptera , respirometry , ventilation (architecture) , zoology , botany , ecology , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , engineering
The respiratory physiology and water relations of three harvester ant species ( Pogonomyrmex rugosus Emery, P. occidentalis [Cresson] and P. californicus [Buckley]) were examined at three temperatures (15, 25 and 35°C) using a flow‐through respirometry system. As intact ants tended to be active during testing, we performed a parallel set of experiments on individuals rendered motionless by decapitation. Both intact and decapitated ants exhibited discontinuous ventilation. Decapitation caused metabolic rate (V˙CO 2 ) and burst frequency to decrease in all three species. Burst volume either remained constant or increased after removal of the head, though mass‐specific V˙CO 2 was unaffected except in P. rugosus . Mass‐specific V˙CO 2 s of headless harvesters were comparable with published values derived from motionless specimens of other ant species. The mean Q 10 for intact ants of all three species was 2.37; for decapitated insects the mean was 2.32. Respiratory water constituted a small (< 5%) fraction of total loss, and we believe that discontinuous ventilation does not act to conserve water in these organisms, although it may serve other functions.