validity of thermal ramping assays used to assess thermal tolerance in arthropods热增加有效性分析用于评估在节肢动物热耐受性.pdfVIP

Validity of Thermal Ramping Assays Used to Assess Thermal Tolerance in Arthropods 1 1,2 1 Johannes Overgaard *, Torsten Nygaard Kristensen , Jesper Givskov Sørensen 1 Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, 2 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Tjele, Denmark Abstract Proper assessment of environmental resistance of animals is critical for the ability of researchers to understand how variation in environmental conditions influence population and species abundance. This is also the case for studies of upper thermal limits in insects, where researchers studying animals under laboratory conditions must select appropriate methodology on which conclusions can be drawn. Ideally these methods should precisely estimate the trait of interest and also be biological meaningful. In an attempt to develop such tests it has been proposed that thermal ramping assays are useful assays for small insects because they incorporate an ecologically relevant gradual temperature change. However, recent model-based papers have suggested that estimates of thermal resistance may be strongly confounded by simultaneous starvation and dehydration stress. In the present study we empirically test these model predictions using two sets of independent experiments. We clearly demonstrate that results from ramping assays of small insects (Drosophila melanogaster) are not compromised by starvation- or dehydration-stress. Firstly we show that the mild disturbance of water and energy balance of D. melanogaster experienced during the ramping tests does not confound heat tolerance estimates. Secondly w