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Field-Based Thermal Physiology Assay: Cold Shock Recovery under Ambient Conditions
Published on: March 9, 2021
Colour in insect thermoregulation: empirical and theoretical tests in the colour-changing grasshopper, Kosciuscola
K D L Umbers1, M E Herberstein, J S Madin
1Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia. kate.umbers@mq.edu.au
Abstract:
Body colours can result in different internal body temperatures, but evidence for the biological significance of colour-induced temperature differences is inconsistent. We investigated the relationship between body colour and temperature in a model insect species that rapidly changes colour. We used an empirical approach and constructed a heat budget model to quantify whether a colour change from black to turquoise has a role in thermoregulation for the chameleon grasshopper (Kosciuscola tristis). Our study shows that colour change in K. tristis provides relatively small temperature differences that vary greatly with wind speed (0.55 °C at ms(-1) to 0.05 °C at 10 ms(-1)). The biological significance of this difference is unclear and we discuss the requirement for more studies that directly test hypotheses regarding the fitness effects of colour in manipulating body temperature.
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