Responses of antennal campaniform sensilla to rapid temperature changes in ground beetles of the tribe platynini with different habitat preferences and daily activity rhythms

Responses of temperature sensitive (cold) cells from the antenna of ground beetles (tribe Platynini) were compared in species with different ecological preferences and daily activity rhythms. Action potential rates were characterized at various temperatures (ranges 23–39 °C) and during rapid changes in it ( Δ t = 0.5 – 15 ° C ). The stationary firing frequencies were nearly twice as high in eurythermic open field ground beetles Agonum muelleri and Anchomenus dorsalis (firing rates ranging from 22 to 47 imp/s) than in a stenothermic forest species Platynus assimilis. In the eurythermic species, the firing rate did not significantly depend on temperature (Anchomenus dorsalis range of 23–27 °C and Agonum muelleri range of 23–33 °C) but plots of firing rate versus temperature showed rapid declines when lethally high temperatures were approached. In contrast, a nearly linear decline of the firing rate/temperature curve was observed in Platynus assimilis. Responses to rapid temperature decreases were also considerably higher in eurythermic species. Both the peak frequency of the initial burst (maximum 420–650 Hz) as well as the sustained discharge in the first 4 s of the response were higher than in Platynus assimilis. Long silent periods, lasting up to several seconds, that occurred at the beginning of the response to rapid warming were significantly shorter in Agonum muelleri and Anchomenus dorsalis compared to Platynus assimilis. These findings suggest that the responses of thermoreceptors to temperature changes may be correlated with specific ecological preferences.