Insect Physiological Ecology : Mechanisms and Patterns.

Intro -- Contents -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Physiological variation -- 1.2 How much variation? -- 1.3 Diversity at large scales: macrophysiology -- 1.4 Growing integration -- 1.5 This book -- 2 Nutritional physiology and ecology -- 2.1 Method and measurement -- 2.1.1 Artificial diets -- 2.1.2 Indices of food conversion efficiency -- 2.1.3 Use of a geometric framework -- 2.2 Physiological aspects of feeding behaviour -- 2.2.1 Optimal feeding in caterpillars -- 2.2.2 Regulation of meal size: volumetric or nutritional feedback -- 2.2.3 Regulation of protein and carbohydrate intake -- 2.3 Digestion and absorption of nutrients -- 2.3.1 Digestive enzymes and the organization of digestion -- 2.3.2 Gut physicochemistry of caterpillars -- 2.3.3 Absorption of nutrients -- 2.4 Overcoming problems with plant feeding -- 2.4.1 Cellulose digestion: endogenous or microbial? -- 2.4.2 Nitrogen as a limiting nutrient -- 2.4.3 Secondary plant compounds -- 2.5 Growth, development, and life history -- 2.5.1 Development time versus body size -- 2.5.2 Developmental trade-offs between body parts -- 2.6 Temperature and growth -- 2.6.1 Thermal effects on feeding and growth -- 2.6.2 Interactions with food quality -- 3 Metabolism and gas exchange -- 3.1 Method and measurement -- 3.2 Metabolism -- 3.2.1 Aerobic pathways -- 3.2.2 Anaerobic pathways and environmental hypoxia -- 3.3 Gas exchange structures and principles -- 3.3.1 Gas exchange and transport in insects -- 3.3.2 Gas exchange principles -- 3.4 Gas exchange and metabolic rate at rest -- 3.4.1 Gas exchange patterns -- 3.4.2 Discontinuous gas exchange cycles -- 3.4.3 Variation in discontinuous gas exchange cycles -- 3.4.4 Origin and adaptive value of the DGC -- 3.4.5 Metabolic rate variation: size -- 3.4.6 Metabolic rate variation: temperature and water availability -- 3.5 Gas exchange and metabolic rate during activity.

3.5.1 Flight -- 3.5.2 Crawling, running, carrying -- 3.5.3 Feeding -- 3.6 Metabolic rate and ecology -- 4 Water balance physiology -- 4.1 Water loss -- 4.1.1 Cuticle -- 4.1.2 Respiration -- 4.1.3 Excretion -- 4.2 Water gain -- 4.2.1 Food -- 4.2.2 Drinking -- 4.2.3 Metabolism -- 4.2.4 Water vapour absorption -- 4.3 Osmoregulation -- 4.3.1 Haemolymph composition -- 4.3.2 Responses to osmotic stress -- 4.3.3 Salt intake -- 4.4 Desiccation resistance -- 4.4.1 Microclimates -- 4.4.2 Group effects -- 4.4.3 Dormancy, size, and phylogeny -- 4.5 The evidence for adaptation: Drosophila as a model -- 5 Lethal temperature limits -- 5.1 Method and measurement -- 5.1.1 Rates of change -- 5.1.2 Measures of thermal stress -- 5.1.3 Exposure and recovery time -- 5.2 Heat shock, cold shock, and rapid hardening -- 5.2.1 Acclimation -- 5.2.2 Heat shock -- 5.2.3 Cold shock -- 5.2.4 Relationships between heat and cold shock responses -- 5.3 Programmed responses to cold -- 5.3.1 Cold hardiness classifications -- 5.3.2 Freeze intolerance -- 5.3.3 Cryoprotective dehydration -- 5.3.4 Freezing tolerance -- 5.4 Large-scale patterns -- 5.4.1 Cold tolerance strategies: phylogeny, geography, benefits -- 5.4.2 The geography of upper and lower limits -- 6 Thermoregulation -- 6.1 Method and measurement -- 6.2 Power output and temperature -- 6.3 Behavioural regulation -- 6.3.1 Microhabitats and activity -- 6.3.2 Colour and body size -- 6.3.3 Evaporative cooling in ectothermic cicadas -- 6.4 Butterflies: interactions between levels -- 6.4.1 Variation at the phosphoglucose isomerase locus -- 6.4.2 Wing colour -- 6.4.3 The influence of predation -- 6.5 Regulation by endothermy -- 6.5.1 Preflight warm-up -- 6.5.2 Regulation of heat gain -- 6.5.3 Regulation of heat loss -- 6.6 Endothermy: ecological and evolutionary aspects -- 6.6.1 Bees: body size and foraging.

6.6.2 Bees: food quality and body temperature -- 7 Conclusion -- 7.1 Spatial variation and its implications -- 7.1.1 Decoupling of upper and lower lethal limits -- 7.1.2 Latitudinal variation in species richness and generation time -- 7.1.3 Spatial extent of the data -- 7.2 Body size -- 7.3 Interactions: internal and external -- 7.3.1 Internal interactions -- 7.3.2 External interactions -- 7.3.3 Interactions: critical questions -- 7.4 Climate change -- 7.5 To conclude -- References -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Z.

This book provides a modern, synthetic overview of interactions between insects and their environments from a physiological perspective that integrates information across a range of approaches and scales. It shows that evolved physiological responses at the individual level are translated into coherent physiological and ecological patterns at larger, even global scales. This is done by examining in detail the ways in which insects obtain resources from the environment, process these resources in various ways, and turn the results into energy which allows them to regulate their internal environment as well as cope with environmental extremes of temperature and water availability. The book demonstrates that physiological responses are not only characterized by substantial temporal variation, but also shows coherent variation across several spatial scales. At the largest, global scale, there appears to be substantial variation associated with the hemisphere in which insects are found. Such variation has profound implications for patterns of biodiversity as well as responses to climate change, and these implications are explicitly discussed. The book provides a novel integration of the understanding gained from broad-scale field studies of many species and the more narrowly focused laboratory investigations of model organisms. In so doing it reflects the growing realization that an integration of mechanistic and large-scale comparative physiology can result in unexpected insights into the diversity of insects.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.