Meeting Abstract

P3-83   -   Migratory locusts increase carbohydrate but not protein consumption during simulated migration Osgood, GM*; Talal, S; Millerwise, S; Overson, R; Harrison, J; Cease, A; Arizona State University, Tempe AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe AZ gmosgood@asu.edu https://sustainability-innovation.asu.edu/global-locust-initiative/

Animal nutritional requirements can shift due to many environmental and biological factors, causing many animals to regulate the consumption rate of macronutrients in an effort to optimize performance. Locusts, an important model in insect nutritional ecology studies, are best known for their migration in huge swarms and show a tight regulation of protein to carbohydrate consumption. Despite their importance, it has rarely been shown how consumption patterns change during different life history events, such as energetically costly prolonged migratory flight. In this study we investigated how migratory flight affects locust macronutrient consumption dynamics. Since locust migratory flight depends on lipid stores that can be synthesized from dietary carbohydrates, we predicted that flying locusts will consume more carbohydrates than non-flying locusts. We measured macronutrient consumption of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria for twelve days in their adulthood. During this period, they were put on flight mills for five hours a day for seven days, then we compared their consumption to control non-flying groups of locusts. On flight days, our data show an increase in carbohydrates consumed in the flight group, but no difference in protein consumption between the flying and non-flying groups. There was no difference in protein and carbohydrate consumption between groups in the days before or after flight. This suggests rapid metabolic recovery from consecutive days of exercise and a bias towards carbohydrate heavy plants during times of rapid swarm movement in the wild. This work was supported by NSF # 1942054.