Phenotypic flexibility in cutaneous water loss and lipids of the stratum corneum

• Main Authors: Michael J. Haugen, B. Irene Tieleman, Joseph B. Williams
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Summary; Alauda arvensis
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.408.4397; http://jeb.biologists.org/content/206/20/3581.full.pdf

When vertebrates invaded land during the Carboniferous period, they were exposed not only to new ecological opportunities but also to a desiccating environment. To maintain cellular water homeostasis, natural selection modified the integument of pioneering terrestrial animals, enabling them to reduce water loss through the skin. In desert environments, where ambient temperatures (Ta) can reach 50°C, relative humidities are low and drinking water is scarce, integumentary modifications that reduce cutaneous water loss (CWL) could be fundamental to survival. Previous research has shown that hoopoe larks (Alaemon alaudipes) from the Arabian desert reduced CWL when acclimated to 35°C compared with individuals at 15°C, but skylarks (Alauda arvensis) and woodlarks (Lullula arborea), from The Netherlands, and Dunn’s larks (Eremalauda dunni), also from the Arabian desert, did not. Here, we test the idea