Gefen Eran, Ar Amos
Department of Zoology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
J Exp Biol. 2005 May;208(Pt 10):1887-94. doi: 10.1242/jeb.01568.
Scorpions of the Family Buthidae have lower water loss rates (WLR) and enhanced osmoregulatory capacities in comparison with sympatric species of F. Scorpionidae. In this study we followed changes in water content of different body compartments in four scorpion species under prolonged desiccation conditions. The high initial WLR previously reported for Scorpionidae result in rapid depletion of body water stores. A significant decrease in total body water content of Scorpionidae was recorded following loss of only 5% of initial mass, whereas no such decrease was recorded for Buthidae following severe desiccation. When desiccated, scorpions lose water primarily from the hepatopancreas, while haemolymph volume is more tightly regulated. However, the haemolymph volume of Scorpionidae decreases as a result of depletion of hepatopancreas water stores following severe desiccation. The increasing lipid fraction in the hepatopancreas of Scorpionidae during desiccation suggests that depletion of body water stores may induce enhanced catabolism of carbohydrates, which may contribute to volume regulation by making initially glycogen-bound water available to the desiccating scorpion.
与同域分布的钳蝎科物种相比，钳蝎科的蝎子具有更低的失水率（WLR）和更强的渗透调节能力。在本研究中，我们追踪了四种蝎子在长期干燥条件下不同身体部位含水量的变化。先前报道的钳蝎科较高的初始失水率导致体内水分储备迅速耗尽。仅损失初始体重的5%后，钳蝎科的总体含水量就显著下降，而钳蝎科在严重干燥后未记录到这种下降。干燥时，蝎子主要从肝胰腺失水，而血淋巴体积受到更严格的调节。然而，由于严重干燥后肝胰腺水分储备耗尽，钳蝎科的血淋巴体积会减少。干燥过程中钳蝎科肝胰腺中脂质比例的增加表明，体内水分储备的耗尽可能会诱导碳水化合物分解代谢增强，这可能通过使最初与糖原结合的水可供干燥的蝎子利用来促进体积调节。
