Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
Volume 206, Issue 7, Pages 1183-1192Publisher
COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS LTD
DOI: 10.1242/jeb.00233
Keywords
cuticular lipids; discontinuous ventilation; Drosophila; metabolic rate; water loss
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Flies of the genus Drosophila inhabit a wide range of habitats, from the tropics to deserts to boreal forests. The primary physiological mechanism allowing Drosophila and other insects to survive in and habitats is a reduction in rates of water loss. To understand mechanisms of water retention in greater detail, we investigated the three main routes by which Drosophila lose water: excretion, cuticular transpiration and respiratory loss through the spiracles. Excretory losses comprised <6% of total water flux and did not differ between xeric (cactophilic) and mesic species. No consistent relationship was observed between water-loss rates and the composition, physical properties or amounts of cuticular hydrocarbons, suggesting that cuticular transpiration did not differ among species from different habitats. Metabolic rates and water-loss rates were highly correlated. Cactophilic Drosophila were less active, and female cactophiles had lower metabolic rates than female mesic species of the same size. They were also more likely to exhibit a pattern Of Cyclic CO2 release that may help to conserve water. We conclude that lower overall rates of water loss are achieved primarily by reduction of respiratory losses.
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