Responses of Terrestrial Invertebrates to Variation in Thermal and Hydric Environment: Molecular, Organismal, and Evolutionary Approaches (Albuquerque, NM, Dec. 27-30, 1996)

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9630236 Harrison Throughout terrestrial habitats, variations in temperature and water availability are the dominant environmental parameters which determine species distributions. The physiological effects of thermal and water variability are interactive, because temperature strongly affects water loss, and evaporative water loss is often a critical mechanism for preventing overheating. Terrestrial invertebrates provide particularly valuable models for the study of the biological effects of thermal and hydric variability, due to their ecological importance, species diversity, ease of rearing, and short generation times. However, use of terrestrial invertebrates as model organisms for evolutionary and environmental studies ultimately depends on a solid understanding of their molecular, cellular and organismal physiology. Traditionally our understanding of many aspects of the cellular and organismal physiology of invertebrates has lagged well behind our knowledge of vertebrates, partly due to the focus of research on biomedicine, and partly due to technical limitations imposed by small body sizes. Recent advances in molecular biology, computer, and micro-analytical technologies have overcome many of these technical limitations to the study of invertebrates. We are now entering an era where rapid advances in our understanding of the genetics, cell biology, and physiology of terrestrial invertebrates are occurring. These advances are providing information of basic importance to agriculture, ecology, and evolutionary biology. This symposium will be held at the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology 1996 meeting, December 27-30, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This symposium will bring together 16 scientists from a diversity of fields ranging from molecular biology/biochemistry, organismal physiology, and evolutionary genetics who are addressing issues related to the temperature and water relations of terrestrial invertebrates. This symposium will promote communication and collaboration among these disciplines, with the goal of providing a more integrated understanding of this fundamental area of environmental physiology. Proceedings will be published in American Zoologist.