Ant desiccation resistance in the light of climate change

Authors: BUJAN, JELENA - Ruder Boskovic Institute; Roeder, Karl

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/27/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Climate change is currently having, and will continue to have, direct impacts on our planet. Temperatures are predicted to increase along with the frequency of extreme weather events like droughts. This is particularly concerning for small ectothermic organisms like ants as their small size and large surface area to volume ratios may put them at risk of dehydration. However, desiccation resistance (i.e the ability to withstand dry conditions by preventing or reducing water loss) may enable ants to survive the predicted dry conditions. Desiccation resistance is systematically underexplored in ants when compared to other physiological traits like thermal tolerance for which we have seen an exponential increase of research interest over the past few decades. Interest in ant desiccation resistance was similar to ant thermal tolerance at the end of the past century, yet this similarity had disappeared by 2020 as there were ~3.5-fold more manuscripts on thermal tolerance. In this chapter, we discuss topics about desiccation resistance that include commonly tested hypotheses, previously used methods, and taxonomic patterns. We further examine traits that help withstand desiccation, foraging/nest digging behaviors, and future directions for the field.

Technical Abstract: Climate change is currently having, and will continue to have, direct impacts on our planet. Temperatures are predicted to increase along with the frequency of extreme weather events like droughts. This is particularly concerning for small ectothermic organisms like ants as their small size and large surface area to volume ratios may put them at risk of dehydration. However, desiccation resistance (i.e the ability to withstand dry conditions by preventing or reducing water loss) may enable ants to survive the predicted dry conditions. Desiccation resistance is systematically underexplored in ants when compared to other physiological traits like thermal tolerance for which we have seen an exponential increase of research interest over the past few decades. Interest in ant desiccation resistance was similar to ant thermal tolerance at the end of the past century, yet this similarity had disappeared by 2020 as there were ~3.5-fold more manuscripts on thermal tolerance. In this chapter, we discuss topics about desiccation resistance that include commonly tested hypotheses, previously used methods, and taxonomic patterns. We further examine traits that help withstand desiccation, foraging/nest digging behaviors, and future directions for the field.