Zoological Studies

Vol. 60, 2021

(update: 2021.10.22; 12.07)

Tolerance to Anhydrobiotic Conditions Among Two Coexisting Tardigrade Species Differing in Life Strategies

Milena Roszkowska1,2, Bartłomiej Gołdyn3, Daria Wojciechowska2,4, Jakub Z. Kosicki5, Edyta Fiałkowska6, Hanna Kmita2, and Łukasz Kaczmarek1,*
doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-74

1Department of Animal Taxonomy and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland. *Correspondence: Tel: +48606384687. E-mail: kaczmar@amu.edu.pl (Kaczmarek)
2Department of Bioenergetics, Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland. E-mail: mil.roszkowska@gmail.com (Roszkowska); grobysdaria@gmail.com (Wojciechowska); hanna.kmita@amu.edu.pl (Kmita)
3Department of General Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland. E-mail: glodny@amu.edu.pl (Gołdyn)
4Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 2, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.
5Department of Avian Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6, 61-614 Poznań, Poland. E-mail: kubako@amu.edu.pl (Kosicki)
6Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland. E-mail: edyta.fialkowska@uj.edu.pl (Fiałkowska)

Received 20 October 2020 / Accepted 6 October 2021
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

Water availability is one of the most important factors for terrestrial life. Terrestrial habitats may periodically become dry, which can be overcome by an organism’s capability to undergo anhydrobiosis. In animals, this phenomenon has been reported for invertebrates, with tardigrades being the best-known. However, different tardigrade species appear to significantly differ in their anhydrobiotic abilities. While several studies have addressed this issue, established experimental protocols for tardigrade dehydration differ both within and among species, leading to ambiguous results. Therefore, we apply unified conditions to estimate intra- and interspecies differences in anhydrobiosis ability reflected by the return to active life. We analysed Milnesium inceptum and Ramazzottius subanomalus representing predatory and herbivorous species, respectively, and often co-occur in the same habitat. The results indicated that the carnivorous Mil. inceptum displays better anhydrobiosis survivability than the herbivorous Ram. subanomalus. This tendency to some degree coincides with the time of “waking up” since Mil. inceptum showed first movements and full activity of any first individual later than Ram. subanomalus. The movements of all individuals were however observed to be faster for Mil. inceptum. Differences between the experimental groups varying in anhydrobiosis length were also observed: the longer tun state duration, the more time was necessary to return to activity.

Key words: Anhydrobiosis, Cryptobiosis, Milnesium inceptum, Ramazzottius subanomalus, Recovery.

Citation: Roszkowska M, Gołdyn B, Wojciechowska D, Kosicki JZ, Fiałkowska E, Kmita H, Kaczmarek Ł. 2021. Tolerance to anhydrobiotic conditions among two coexisting tardigrade species differing in life strategies. Zool Stud 60:74. doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-74.

Supplementary materials: Table S1Table S2