title: Surface area-volume ratios in insects.
abstract: Body mass, volume and surface area are important for many aspects of the physiology and performance of species. Whereas body mass scaling received a lot of attention in the literature, surface areas of animals have not been measured explicitly in this context. We quantified surface area-volume (SA/V) ratios for the first time using 3D surface models based on a structured light scanning method for 126 species of pollinating insects from 4 orders (Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera). Water loss of 67 species was measured gravimetrically at very dry conditions for 2 h at 15 and 30 °C to demonstrate the applicability of the new 3D surface measurements and relevance for predicting the performance of insects. Quantified SA/V ratios significantly explained the variation in water loss across species, both directly or after accounting for isometric scaling (residuals of the SA/V ∼ mass2/3relationship). Small insects with a proportionally larger surface area had the highest water loss rates. Surface scans of insects to quantify allometric SA/V ratios thus provide a promising method to predict physiological responses, improving the potential of body mass isometry alone that assume geometric similarity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, D-64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kühsel
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, D-64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brückner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, D-64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmelzle
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, D-64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heethoff
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstrasse 3, D-64287, Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Blüthgen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001830:Body Surface Area; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007313:Insecta / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014870:Water Loss, Insensible
keywords: 3D surface imaging; body shape; body size; sphericity; structured light; water loss