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First published online April 18, 2006
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 1575-1584 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.02179
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Constraints of tolerance: why are desiccation-tolerant organisms so small or rare?

Peter Alpert

Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA


Figure 1
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  		Fig. 1. Desiccation-tolerant animals and flowering plants are dominant species in some extremely dry habitats: (A) Taylor Valley, Antarctica, where the tolerant soil nematode Scottnema lindsayae may be the most common animal; (B) seasonally dry, ephemeral pools in Nigeria, the habitat of the tolerant larva of the fly Polypedilum vanderplanki; (C) rock outcrops in South Africa, a habitat of the tolerant shrub Myrothamnus flabellifolius. In less dry habitats, desiccation-tolerant animals and plants are subordinate species: (D) temperate heathland in Öland, Sweden, a habitat of the tardigrade Richtersius coronifer. Photos by Andy Parsons (A), Takashi Okuda (B), Jill Farrant (C) and Ingemar Jönsson (D).

 

Figure 2
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  		Fig. 2. Adult animals in three phyla tolerate desiccation; all ball or curl up as they dry: (A) scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) of the rotifer Macrotrachela quadricornifera hydrated (length 0.2 mm) and desiccated; (B) light micrograph and photo of the tardigrade Richtersius coronifer; (C) active adults of the nematode Scottnema lindsayae (50x); (D) SEM (1600x) of a desiccated nematode, Acrobeloides sp. Photos by Giulio Melone (A), Ingemar Jönsson (B), Amy Treonis (C) and Diana Wall (D).

 

Figure 3
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  		Fig. 3. In animals that have skeletons as adults, desiccation tolerance is restricted to juvenile stages: (A) SEM of a tolerant, encysted gastrula (diameter, 0.2 mm) of the brine shrimp Artemia franciscana; (B) desiccation-sensitive, adult A. franciscana (length ~1 mm); (C) active and desiccated larvae of the fly Polypedilum vanderplanki. Photos by James Clegg (A,B) and Takashi Okuda (C).

 

Figure 4
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  		Fig. 4. Leaves of the desiccation-tolerant, herbaceous plant Craterostigma wilmsii curl as they dry (A). However, woody stems of the tolerant shrub Myrothamnus flabellifolius change little in shape (B). Photos by Jill Farrant.

 

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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2006