Mj. Tauber et al., MOISTURE, A VITAL BUT NEGLECTED FACTOR IN THE SEASONAL ECOLOGY OF INSECTS - HYPOTHESES AND TESTS OF MECHANISMS, Environmental entomology, 27(3), 1998, pp. 523-530
Of the major physical factors that influence insect seasonal ecology,
moisture is least understood and least appreciated. It is our premise
that experimental probing of insets from diverse zones and various hab
itats would reveal general patterns of insect responses to moisture th
at are as striking as those for photoperiod and temperature. using the
paradigms of photoperiod and temperature as ec ophysiological determi
nants of insect seasonality, we hypothesize that moisture influences i
nsect life cycles via one or more of three mechanisms - as a token sti
mulus for diapause, modulator of developmental or reproductive rates,
or behavioral cue for vital seasonal events. For heuristic purposes, w
e offer each of these hypotheses in close association with approaches
for testing their validity in insects that undergo dry-season dormancy
. The approaches appear appropriate for examining the role of moisture
in the life histories of terrestrial invertebrates other than insects
, as well ads plants and microbes that have a seasonal resting sate. E
lucidating moisture's role in insect seasonal cycles is critical to th
e development of comprehensive phenological models, improved insect ma
nagement systems, and identification of novel evolutionary mechanisms
for adaptation to wet-dry seasons, especially in tropical, subtropical
,and Mediterranean regions.