Body mass, volume and surface area are important for many aspects of the physiology and performance of species. Whereas body mass scaling received a lot of attention in the literature, surface areas of animals have no...Body mass, volume and surface area are important for many aspects of the physiology and performance of species. Whereas body mass scaling received a lot of attention in the literature, surface areas of animals have not been measured explicitly in this context. We quantified surface area-volume （SA/V） ratios for the first time using 3D surface models based on a structured light scanning method for 126 species of pollinating insects from 4 orders （Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera）. Water loss of 67 species was measured gravimetrically at very dry conditions for 2 h at 15 and 30 ℃ to demonstrate the applicability of the new 3D surface measurements and relevance for predicting the performance of insects. Quantified SA/V ratios significantly explained the variation in water loss across species, both directly or after accounting for isometric scaling （residuals of the SA/V - mass2/3 relationship）. Small insects with a proportionally larger surface area had the highest water loss rates. Surface scans of insects to quantify allometric SA/Vratios thus provide a promising method to predict physiological responses, improving the potential of body mass isometry alone that assume geometric similarity.展开更多
文摘Body mass, volume and surface area are important for many aspects of the physiology and performance of species. Whereas body mass scaling received a lot of attention in the literature, surface areas of animals have not been measured explicitly in this context. We quantified surface area-volume （SA/V） ratios for the first time using 3D surface models based on a structured light scanning method for 126 species of pollinating insects from 4 orders （Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera）. Water loss of 67 species was measured gravimetrically at very dry conditions for 2 h at 15 and 30 ℃ to demonstrate the applicability of the new 3D surface measurements and relevance for predicting the performance of insects. Quantified SA/V ratios significantly explained the variation in water loss across species, both directly or after accounting for isometric scaling （residuals of the SA/V - mass2/3 relationship）. Small insects with a proportionally larger surface area had the highest water loss rates. Surface scans of insects to quantify allometric SA/Vratios thus provide a promising method to predict physiological responses, improving the potential of body mass isometry alone that assume geometric similarity.
