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Title: Components of evaporative water loss in the desert tenebrionid beetles, Eleodes armata and Cryptoglossa verrucosa

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6078817

Water loss in Eleodes armata and Cryptoglossa verrucosa increased with increasing temperature and decreasing vapor activity (a/sub v/). Rates of evaporative water loss were always about 4 times greater in E. armata than in C. verrucosa at the different temperatures and 0.0 a/sub v/, while as a/sub v/ increased the ratio of E. armata loss to C. verrucosa decreased from 4 at 0.0 a/sub v/ to about 2 at 0.94 a/sub v/. A method for determining mesothoracic spiracular, sub-elytral abdominal, and cuticular water loss rates was described and validated for living E. armata. Sub-elytral abdominal water loss through the caudal opening was 8.0 mg H/sub 2/O (g.d)/sup -1/, meso-thoracic spiracular water loss was approximately 7.9 mg H/sub 2/O (g.d)/sup -1/, and cuticular loss was 26.2 mg H/sub 2/O (g.d)/sup -1/ at 30 C and 0.0 a/sub v/. Evaporative water loss was shown to have two unidirectional components, efflux and influx, for both beetles with the use of tritiated water (H/sup 3/HO). Efflux was independent of a/sub v/, while influx increased linearly with a/sub v/, with both components having lower rates in C. verrucosa compared to E. armata.

Research Organization:
California Univ., Los Angeles (USA). Lab. of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences
DOE Contract Number:
AC03-76SF00012
OSTI ID:
6078817
Report Number(s):
UCLA-12/1319; ON: DE82002963
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English