Temperature effects on locomotor activity rates of sub-Antarctic oribatid mites |
| |
| Authors: | David J. Marshall Steven L. Chown |
| |
| Affiliation: | (1) Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, 7700 Rondebosch, South Africa;(2) Present address: Zoology Department, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice, South Africa;(3) Present address: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, 0002 Pretoria, South Africa |
| |
| Abstract: | The influence of temperature on locomotor activity was determined for the sub-Antarctic mites, Halozetes fulvus Engelbrecht and Podacarus auberti Grandjean. In both species walking was severely impaired at below-freezing temperatures. Above zero, locomotor activity rates increased with a rise in temperature over a wide temperature range (for example, this was 2–30°C for H. fulvus), and they showed a biologically normal level of sensitivity to change in temperature. All the calculated Q10 values for mean rates over 5° intervals varied between 1.3 and 2.9. The present data are compared with some rate functions of maritime and continental Antarctic micro-arthropods, and they confirm the relative enhancement of the physiological rate by a continental Antarctic mite. One explanation for the less temperature-sensitive rates in H. fulvus and P. auberti may be that they have relatively more time available for normal biological activity. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
