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First published online January 27, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 723-733 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.00807

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Temperature regulation in burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.: Coleoptera: Silphidae): effects of body size, morphology and environmental temperature

Melissa J. Merrick^* and Rosemary J. Smith

Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209-8007, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: merrmeli{at}isu.edu)

Accepted 17 November 2003

This study compares the thermoregulatory ability of three species of burying beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorus hybridus, Nicrophorus guttula and Nicrophorus investigator) that vary significantly in body size. It also explores possible mechanisms for temperature regulation in burying beetles, including physiological and behavioral thermoregulatory strategies, and the influence of environmental temperatures on body temperature and activity times. We measured beetle thoracic and abdominal temperatures before and after short (<5 s) flights, and thoracic temperature during sustained, tethered flights and following flight in the field. We calculated two measures of thermoregulatory ability: the slope of post-flight thoracic temperature against ambient air temperature and the slope of post-flight thoracic temperature against operative flight temperature. Thoracic temperatures following flight were significantly higher than abdominal temperatures, and the largest species, N. hybridus, was determined to be the better thermoregulator, with regression slopes closer to zero (0.315–0.370) than N. guttula (0.636–0.771) or N. investigator (0.575–0.610). We also examined the roles that insulation, wing loading, physiological heat transfer, basking and perceived environmental temperature play on temperature regulation and activity times in Nicrophorus. This study shows that body size, morphological features, such as wing loading and insulation, and perceived environmental temperatures affect thermoregulation and activity times in burying beetles.

Key words: thermoregulation, body size, body temperature, burying beetle, operative temperature, flight temperature, Nicrophorus spp., Coleoptera