scholarly journals Allometry in desert ant locomotion (Cataglyphis albicans and Cataglyphis bicolor) – does body size matter?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Tross ◽  
Harald Wolf ◽  
Sarah Elisabeth Pfeffer
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Walking Speeds ◽  
Size Matter ◽  
Cataglyphis Bicolor

Desert ants show a large range of adaptations to their habitats. They can reach extremely high running speeds, for example, to shorten heat stress during foraging trips. It has recently been examined how fast walking speeds are achieved in different desert ant species. It is intriguing in this context that some species exhibit distinct intraspecific size differences. We therefore performed a complete locomotion analysis over the entire size spectrum of the species Cataglyphis bicolor, and we compared this intraspecific data set with that of the allometrically similar species Cataglyphis albicans. Emphasis was on the allometry of locomotion: we considered the body size of each animal and analysed the data in terms of relative walking speed. Body size was observed to affect walking parameters, gait patterns and phase relations in terms of absolute walking speed. Unexpectedly, on a relative scale, all ants tended to show the same overall locomotion strategy at slow walking speeds, and significant differences occurred only between C. albicans and C. bicolor at high walking speeds. Our analysis revealed that C. bicolor ants use the same overall strategy across all body sizes, with small ants reaching the highest walking speeds (up to 80 body lengths s−1) by increasing their stride lengths and incorporating aerial phases. By comparison, C. albicans reached high walking speeds mainly by a high synchrony of leg movement, lower swing phase durations and higher stride frequencies ranging up to 40 Hz.

A new species in the genus Alopecosa Simon, 1885 from Korea (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 397 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUNGSUN YOO ◽  
JOOPIL KIM ◽  
HOZUMI TANAKA
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
New Species ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscope ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
The Body ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Scanning Electron

Alopecosa volubilis n. sp. is described from Korea and is differentiated from other species in Alopecosa Simon, 1885 by morphological characteristics, such as three retromarginal teeth of chelicera, smaller body size, and the presence of a distinct tip of the median apophysis. The pedipalpal sclerites and somatic characters of two similar species, A. moriutii Tanaka, 1985 and A. hokkaidensis Tanaka, 1985, are compared with those of the new species. An illustration of the body and scanning electron microscope (SEM) pictures of the pedipalpal organ are provided.

scholarly journals First record of the genus Lamellarea (Acari, Oribatida, Lamellareidae) from the Neotropical region

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
Sergey G. Ermilov
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Body Size ◽  
First Record ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
The Body ◽  
Generic Diagnosis ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Live Oak ◽  
A New Species

A new species of Lamellarea (Oribatida, Lamellareidae) is described from hick twigs of southern live oak in Florida, U.S.A. (part of the Neotropical region). Lamellarea americana sp. nov. differs from most similar species, Lamellarea digitata and L. forceps by the ventrally inserted lamellar setae, the number of genital setae, the length of interlamellar setae, and the body size. Remarks on generic diagnosis and distribution of Lamellarea are presented.

scholarly journals Macroscale patterns of oceanic zooplankton composition and size structure

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoela C. Brandão ◽  
Fabio Benedetti ◽  
Séverine Martini ◽  
Yawouvi Dodji Soviadan ◽  
Jean-Olivier Irisson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Fish Larvae ◽  
The Body ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Zooplankton Abundance

AbstractOcean plankton comprise organisms from viruses to fish larvae that are fundamental to ecosystem functioning and the provision of marine services such as fisheries and CO2 sequestration. The latter services are partly governed by variations in plankton community composition and the expression of traits such as body size at community-level. While community assembly has been thoroughly studied for the smaller end of the plankton size spectrum, the larger end comprises ectotherms that are often studied at the species, or group-level, rather than as communities. The body size of marine ectotherms decreases with temperature, but controls on community-level traits remain elusive, hindering the predictability of marine services provision. Here, we leverage Tara Oceans datasets to determine how zooplankton community composition and size structure varies with latitude, temperature and productivity-related covariates in the global surface ocean. Zooplankton abundance and median size decreased towards warmer and less productive environments, as a result of changes in copepod composition. However, some clades displayed the opposite relationships, which may be ascribed to alternative feeding strategies. Given that climate models predict increasingly warmed and stratified oceans, our findings suggest that zooplankton communities will shift towards smaller organisms which might weaken their contribution to the biological carbon pump.

scholarly journals Wingbeat frequency of birds in steady cruising flight: new data and improved predictions

1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (7) ◽  
pp. 1613-1618 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Pennycuick
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
The Body ◽  
Moment Of Inertia ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Wingbeat Frequency ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Air Density ◽  
Correct Formula ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Combined Data

Wingbeat frequencies of 15 species of birds, observed in the field in level, cruising flight were compared with predicted frequencies, calculated according to the formula derived from an earlier sample of 32 species. All of the data were collected by the author, using the same methods throughout. The new observations were predicted well for species with low wingbeat frequencies, but were underestimated at the higher frequencies. The following revised proportionality gave the best fit of the wingbeat frequency (f) to the combined data set of 47 species: where m is the body mass, g is the acceleration due to gravity, b is the wingspan, S is the wing area, I is the wing moment of inertia, and is the air density. As measurements of I were not available for most species, its exponent was combined with those of m and b, by assuming that Imb2. The following equation was fitted to the data on this basis: These formulae are dimensionally correct, according to the rules derived in the earlier paper, and the equation is also numerically correct as it stands, without requiring a multiplication factor. For allometric comparisons between geometrically similar species, where body mass and wing measurements vary together (including wing moment of inertia), the expected relationship is f m-1/6. If the mass alone varies, owing to feeding or consumption of fuel, while the wing measurements and other variables remain unchanged, the expected relationship is f m1/2. These relationships apply to any dimensionally correct formula and are not affected by adjusting the coefficients within the dimensional constraints.

scholarly journals Shifting body weight-fecundity relationship in a capital breeder: maternal effects on egg numbers of the autumnal moth under field conditions

2008 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Heisswolf ◽  
T. Klemola ◽  
T. Andersson ◽  
K. Ruohomäki
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Body Size ◽  
The Body ◽  
Residual Variance ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Potential Fecundity ◽  
Autumnal Moth ◽  
Egg Number ◽  
Pupal Mass ◽  
Parent Generation

AbstractIn the literature, various environmental factors are described as being capable of influencing the reproductive output of insect females irrespective of their body size. Still, female body size or weight is widely used as a proxy for fecundity. In the present study, a seven-year data set on the autumnal moth, Epirrita autumnata (Borkhausen) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), was used to analyze whether the body weight-fecundity relationship in this capital breeding, cyclic forest defoliating lepidopteran is constant across years. Ambient temperature conditions and density of conspecifics during larval development, the length of the pupal period, as well as moth densities in the parent generation were examined as factors capable of modifying the body weight-fecundity relationship. While the regression slope of potential fecundity (total egg numbers per female) on pupal mass was constant across years, the mean total egg number per given body weight (the regression intercept) was significantly different between years. This residual variance in egg numbers after controlling for the effect of pupal mass was best explained by the pooled geometrid density (autumnal and winter moths) in the parent generation. The total egg number per given body weight decreased with increasing density of geometrid moths in the parent generation. Thus, maternal density effects on offspring fecundity were found in this system. Their rather weak nature suggests, however, that this maternal effect alone does not have the potential of causing cyclic population dynamics in the autumnal moth.

Structure of the Body-Size Spectrum of the Biomass in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Consequence of Allometry in Predator–Prey Interactions

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1308-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Thiebaux ◽  
L. M. Dickie
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Quadratic Term ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Basic Model ◽  
Energy Transfers ◽  
Allometric Functions

An equation describing predator–prey trophic energy transfers and production within the body-size spectrum of the biomass of aquatic ecosystems is formulated using allometric functions of body size. Its solution is the sum of two parts. One is a quadratic term that gives parabolic domes of biomass, in accordance with observations in nature. A second part, which seems not to have been recognized earlier, is a periodic function of log body size having significant potential for interpreting sample data reflecting ecosystem dynamics. The formulation is fitted to fish data from a small lake to demonstrate the applicability of the basic model to observations and to examine the scales of interaction of the measures of ecosystem dynamics that may be derived from them.

Body Size and Feeding Ecology as Alternatives to Taxonomy for the Study of Limnetic Zooplankton Community Structure

1979 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1354-1363 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Gary Sprules ◽  
L. Blair Holtby
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Feeding Ecology ◽  
Zooplankton Community ◽  
The Body ◽  
Size Spectrum ◽  
Zooplankton Community Structure ◽  
Flow Through ◽  
Zooplankton Communities

Three different characterizations of limnetic zooplankton communities from lakes of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario are compared with respect to their usefulness in limnological studies: a conventional taxonomic one, one based on the body size and feeding ecology of the organisms, and one based on image analysis of the particle size spectrum. In comparison with the taxonomic characterization, the ecological and image analysis characterizations reflect zooplankton community features which are more closely related to the efficiency and nature of energy flow through pelagic ecosystems. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that these features have stronger statistical relations to morphometric and hydrological properties of lakes. The ecological and image analyses are thus not only more useful in studies seeking to make predictions about lake function from lake type but actually require less time, money and expertise in the acquisition of zooplankton data. In comparisons of zooplankton communities from the disparate faunal regions of the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario and southeast Asia, particularly Sri Lanka, more useful functional insights emerge from a body size-feeding ecology characterization than from a taxonomically based one. Key words: community structure, image analysis, Bruce Peninsula, tropical zooplankton, zoogeography, multivariate analysis

Body size, sampling completeness, and extinction risk in the marine fossil record

Paleobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan L. Payne ◽  
Noel A. Heim
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
The Body ◽  
Simple Explanation ◽  
Marine Animals ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Higher Taxa ◽  
Size Bias ◽  
Stratigraphic Ranges

AbstractLarger body size has long been assumed to correlate with greater risk of extinction, helping to shape body-size distributions across the tree of life, but a lack of comprehensive size data for fossil taxa has left this hypothesis untested for most higher taxa across the vast majority of evolutionary time. Here we assess the relationship between body size and extinction using a data set comprising the body sizes, stratigraphic ranges, and occurrence patterns of 9408 genera of fossil marine animals spanning eight Linnaean classes across the past 485 Myr. We find that preferential extinction of smaller-bodied genera within classes is substantially more common than expected due to chance and that there is little evidence for preferential extinction of larger-bodied genera. Using a capture–mark–recapture analysis, we find that this size bias of extinction persists even after accounting for a pervasive bias against the sampling of smaller-bodied genera within classes. The size bias in extinction also persists after including geographic range as an additional predictor of extinction, indicating that correlation between body size and geographic range does not provide a simple explanation for the association between size and extinction. Regardless of the underlying causes, the preferential extinction of smaller-bodied genera across many higher taxa and most of geologic time indicates that the selective loss of large-bodied animals is the exception, rather than the rule, in the evolution of marine animals.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document