Meeting Abstract

P3.20  Thursday, Jan. 6  KINEMATIC EXAMINATION OF SPIRACULAR SYNCHRONY IN THE INSECT GROMPHADORHINA PORTENTOSA (HISSING COCKROACH). kinematic examination of spiracular synchrony in the insect gromphadorhina portentosa (hissing cockroach). BAMBARDEKAR, K*; MCHENRY, MJ; BRADLEY, TJ; University of California, Irvine kbambard@uci.edu

Numerous studies of insect respiratory patterns have been conducted involving whole animal oxygen consumption and/or carbon dioxide release. These techniques reveal gas exchange processes at the organismal level, but provide little direct insight into spiracular function and control. We initiated a study of abdominal spiracular behavior in the hissing cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa. Using two video cameras, we observed that spiracles open and close periodically. Using recorded sequences we analyzed the frequency and lag between patterns from opposing spiracles of the same abdominal segment and different segments. Our results indicate that spiracles in the same segment are synchronized with a lag of less than 0.5 seconds. Spiracles on separate segments can operate in synchrony or independently. These results provide interesting insights into the neural and metabolic processes that control spiracular activity, and thus respiratory patterns in insects.