23rd Annual Student Research Conference
Metabolic Rate in Tropical Scorpions
Megan K. Lutz* and Haley B. Eisenberg
Dr. Chad Montgomery, Faculty Mentor
Due to low resting metabolic rate and low water demands scorpions compose a large portion of invertebrate biomass in temperate desert ecosystems. Low resting metabolic rates allow for greater levels of energy available for growth, storage, and reproduction, all of which lead to increased biomass. Additionally, scorpions have low water demands because they are nocturnal and because their low metabolic rate allows for decreased water loss in exhalation. However, no observations of scorpion physiology have been made on tropical scorpions. Tropical environments differ in several ways that could affect metabolic rate, namely high levels of precipitation, greater annual net primary productivity, and longer active seasons. In this study, we analyzed data collected from a tropical species of scorpion (Centruroides margaritatus) using flow through respirometry and found that tropical scorpions showed similar standard metabolic rate after correcting for body mass, indicating standard metabolic rate is phylogentically conserved and not environmentally plastic.
Keywords: Scorpion, Metabolic rate
Topic(s):Biology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 8-11
Location: SUB-GEO
Time: 4:15