Does temperature and oxygen affect duration of intramarsupial development and juvenile growth in the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber (Crustacea, Malacostraca)?

By

Horvathova, Terezia
Antoł, Andrzej
Czarnoleski, Marcin
Kramarz, Paulina
Bauchinger, Ulf
Łabęcka, Anna Maria
Kozłowski, Jan

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

515

Pages

67-79

Subjects

Crustacea , Oniscidea , Ontogenic development , Oxygen , Temperature-size rule

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.515.9353

 

Abstract

According to the temperature-size rule (TSR), ectotherms developing under cold conditions experience slower growth as juveniles but reach a larger size at maturity. Whether temperature alone causes this phenomenon is unknown, but oxygen limitation can play a role in the temperature-size relationship. Oxygen may become limited under warm conditions when the resulting higher metabolism creates a greater demand for oxygen, especially in larger individuals. We examined the independent effects of oxygen concentration (10% and 22% O2) and temperature (15 °C and 22 °C) on duration of ontogenic development, which takes place within the maternal brood pouch (marsupium), and juvenile growth in the terrestrial isopod common rough woodlouse (Porcellio scaber). Individuals inside the marsupium undergo the change from the aqueous to the gaseous environment. Under hypoxia, woodlice hatched from the marsupium sooner, but their subsequent growth was not affected by the level of oxygen. Marsupial development and juvenile growth were almost three times slower at low temperature, and marsupial development was longer in larger females but only in the cold treatment. These results show that temperature and oxygen are important ecological factors affecting developmental time and that the strength of the effect likely depends on the availability of oxygen in the environment.