Body Size and Tracheal Function in Insects

9728444哈里森虽然大气成分通常被认为是一个常数，但最近的研究表明，大气中的氧气和二氧化碳浓度变化很大。 特别是，地质学研究表明，晚古生代的巨型昆虫与大气中的氧气水平相吻合，该水平超过今天的水平至少50%，导致巨型昆虫可能是由于这种更大的氧气供应而成为可能的。 这在逻辑上导致了这样一个命题，即今天昆虫的身体大小受到大气氧气供应的限制。 这项研究将测试从这个假设的预测。 具体而言，氧气输送的安全裕度随着昆虫体型的增加而降低的可能性将被测试。 实验将使用美洲蝗虫作为模型进行，因为这种昆虫：（1）达到一个大的成年尺寸，（2）在发育过程中身体大小变化很大，（3）具有良好的呼吸生理学研究。

9728444 Harrison While atmospheric composition has often been considered to be a constant, recent studies have demonstrated that atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations have varied substantially. In particular, geologic studies have suggested that the giant insects of the late Paleozoic coincided with atmospheric oxygen levels which exceed today's levels by at least 50%, leading to the suggestion that giant insects may have been made possible by this greater availability of oxygen. This leads logically to the proposition that the body size of today's insects are limited by atmospheric oxygen availability. This research will test predictions from this hypothesis. Specifically, the possibility that the safety margin for oxygen delivery decreases with increasing body size in insects will be tested. The experiments will be conducted using the American locust as models, because this insect: (1) reaches a large adult size, (2) varies widely in body size during development, and (3) has a well-studied respiratory physiology.