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Investigating jumping of various Caelifera grasshopper species over an altitudinal gradient in New York
Author(s) -
Stamatis Ashley Rose,
Townsend Olivia C.,
Kirkton Scott D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.1149.2
Subject(s) - grasshopper , jumping , altitude (triangle) , jump , elevation (ballistics) , biology , predation , habitat , ecology , zoology , mathematics , physics , physiology , geometry , quantum mechanics
In many animals, aerobic activity declines with increasing altitude. We examined whether repeated jumping in grasshoppers showed similar trends. Grasshoppers were collected from six locations in New York state that were classified as high‐elevation (1450 m, N= 9), middle‐elevation (960–1000 m, N=16) and low‐elevation (90–150 m, N=18) Grasshoppers were forced to jump repeatedly for ten minutes in a 30 °C temperature room. After jumping, muscle mass, body mass and femur length were measured. Across all elevations, there were no significant differences in jump frequency or jump distance. However, we noted a similar herbaceous habitat at each location suggesting the similar habitats may result in similar jump performances. Although we were not able to collect the same species at every altitude, certain interesting life‐history trends were apparent. The smallest grasshoppers ( Chorthippus curtipennis ) had the greatest ratio of jumping muscle mass to body mass, produced the longest jumps per body size, but also fatigued fastest. Smaller grasshoppers have higher predation rates; therefore, C. curtipennis’ higher proportional muscle mass may allow it to produce farther escape jumps at the cost of higher fatigue rates. These findings suggest that across our altitudinal gradient, life‐history differences between species rather than altitude may be more important in explaining jump performance differences. Funding was provided through Union College Summer Research Grants.