Meeting Abstract
P3.28 Jan. 6 Conglobation in the Pill Bug (Armadillidium vulgare) as a Terrestrial Adaptation SMIGEL, Jacob T.*; GIBBS, Allen G.; Univ. Of Nevada, Las Vegas; Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas jacobs@intermind.net
We investigated water loss of the terrestrial isopod, Armadillidium vulgare, during conglobation (rolling-up behavior). We measured water loss and metabolic rates at 18 � 1C in dry air of 0% RH, using flow-through respirometry, as well as water loss throughout humidity ranges of 6.0 to 75.4% RH. Water-loss rates showed a statistically significant decrease of 36%, while CO2 release decreased by 48% when specimens were in their conglobated form. Conglobation was also associated with a decrease in water-loss rates at differing humidity at 18 � 1C. This effect was more pronounced when RH was near 0% and less pronounced as the RH approached 100%. These findings suggest that conglobation behavior has adaptive value in regards to desiccation tolerance, in addition to its demonstrated role in protection from predation.
