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The Ontogenetic Scaling of Metabolic Rate in Wing‐ Polymorphic Gryllus firmus
Author(s) -
Cooper Avril Danielle Juah,
Schilder Rudolf J
Publication year - 2016
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.30.1_supplement.760.11
Subject(s) - respirometry , biology , cricket , energetics , field cricket , wing , basal metabolic rate , zoology , metabolic rate , ecology , evolutionary biology , endocrinology , engineering , biochemistry , aerospace engineering
Extensive study of animal energetics has demonstrated that smaller immature animals tend to have higher body mass‐specific metabolic rates than larger animals, (i.e mice vs. elephants) with metabolic rate scaling approximately as animal body mass to the 3/4 power. In other words, small organisms use more energy per unit body weight than larger ones. The focus of this field has been primarily on vertebrate species and as a consequence it is unclear whether this general tendency applies to insects and insect development. In our study we used respirometry of resting and active metabolism in the flight polymorphic sand field cricket Gryllus firmus to address this question. In nature, G. firmus develops as long‐winged, flight capable and short‐winged, flightless adults that differ in flight muscle and reproductive investment. Therefore, we also examined whether metabolic rates differ during development of the two morphs, i.e. are long‐winged morphs more energetically costly to produce than short‐winged morphs? Support or Funding Information The American Physiological Society, Bethesda, MD 20814 National Science Foundation Integrative Organismal Systems Award No. IOS‐1238831