Meeting Abstract
We examined the structural features of the burrows of three species of scorpion, Scorpio maurus palmatus, Opistophthalmus wahlbergii, and O. setifrons, to test the idea that burrow structure is an extension of the organism’s physiology and regulates temperature and moisture levels. Specifically, we predicted that scorpion burrows are built to minimize convective ventilation of the burrow air space. In a desert environment, this may maintain high relative humidity in the burrow, thereby reducing the scorpion’s evaporative water loss. We cast natural burrows with molten aluminum and used a 3D scanner to quantify the burrows’ linear measurements, angles, and volumes. We found that burrows of all three species had several structural features in common, in particular, a horizontal platform just below the entrance and near the surface. Burrow of all three species have at least two bends, ending in an enlarged terminal chamber. Mean total burrow depth for S. m. palmatus in the Negev Desert, Israel was 17.3 ± 4.2 cm, 27.1 ± 5.8 cm for O. wahlbergii in the Kalahari Desert in Namibia, and 19.5 ± 3.1 cm for O. setifrons on the Central Plateau in Namibia. At these depths, burrows reach an adequately stable temperature that provides refuge from extreme ground-surface temperatures. The similarity among burrows of the three different species and their common design features imply their importance for regulating the physical environment of their scorpion inhabitants the burrows, and that they are part of scorpions’ “extended physiology” (sensu Turner 2000). Turner, J. S. 2000. The extended organism; The physiology of animal-built structures. – Harvard University Press.
