White E G
Tussock Grasslands and Mountain Lands Institute, Lincoln College, P.O. Box 56, Canterbury, New Zealand.
Oecologia. 1978 Jan;33(1):17-44. doi: 10.1007/BF00376994.
An energy budget, based entirely on field data, has been constructed for a community of three New Zealand alpine grasshopper species, Paprides nitidus Hutton, Sigaus australis (Hutton) and Brachaspis nivalis (Hutton) (Acrididae). The consumption results are compared with a previous gravimetric ingestion rate study of the same field populations. Jointly, the two studies demonstrate some very specific adaptations between grasshopper energetics and feeding behaviour.Several features of the present study are: 1) the derivations of ingestion energy and respiration energy are believed to be new, using field relationships between assimilation efficiencies, egestion energy and (in the case of respiration) production energy; 2) energy differences between instars, sexes and species are shown to be associated in some cases with absolute body weight and in other cases with developmental rate criteria; 3) a wide range of energetic efficiencies is demonstrated in the course of a single life cycle, and is shown to reflect a progression of adaptations during the development of the individual; 4) major energetic differences between overwintering and non-overwintering population members are demonstrated but do not fit commonly held predictions because of alpine adaptations for depressed respiration and low ingestion energy; 5) it is suggested that the balance of low respiration and low ingestion energy necessitates a diet composition of high percent dry weight, and that it may also serve as a mechanism to govern altitudinal zonation in these grasshoppers. It is concluded from survey data that New Zealand alpine grasshoppers are rarely likely to consume more than 6% of annual primary production, and that in the majority of grasslands, their consumption is unlikely to exceed 1-2%. However, percent consumption is shown to be an inadequate measure of their impact on grasslands.
基于实地数据构建了一个能量预算，该预算针对新西兰三种高山蝗虫群落，即亮翅蝗（Paprides nitidus Hutton）、南方澳蝗（Sigaus australis (Hutton)）和雪山短鼻蝗（Brachaspis nivalis (Hutton)）（蝗科）。将消耗结果与之前对相同野外种群的重量法摄食率研究进行了比较。这两项研究共同证明了蝗虫能量学与取食行为之间的一些非常特殊的适应性。本研究的几个特点是：1）摄食能量和呼吸能量的推导据信是新的，采用了同化效率、排粪能量与（呼吸方面的）生产能量之间的实地关系；2）龄期、性别和物种之间的能量差异在某些情况下与绝对体重相关，而在其他情况下与发育速率标准相关；3）在单个生命周期中展示了广泛的能量效率范围，并表明这反映了个体发育过程中适应性的进展；4）证明了越冬和非越冬种群成员之间存在主要的能量差异，但由于高山适应导致呼吸降低和摄食能量低，这些差异不符合普遍的预测；5）有人认为，低呼吸和低摄食能量的平衡需要高干重百分比的饮食组成，并且这也可能作为控制这些蝗虫垂直分布带的一种机制。根据调查数据得出结论，新西兰高山蝗虫很少可能消耗超过年初级生产量的6%，并且在大多数草原中，它们的消耗量不太可能超过1 - 2%。然而，消耗量百分比被证明不足以衡量它们对草原的影响。
