Effects of Low-level Shock on Terrestrial Organisms PDF Download

Author: Curtis Lakeman Newcombe
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biology, Experimental
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
This report contains results of literature and experimental studies of the effects of shock on terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Nematode worms, earthworms, isopods, ground beetles, ants, root tips of grasses and herbs, and algae were the main organisms studies. Effects on the organisms from compression and abrasion of body surfaces include: dislocation of loosely bound cells of certain body parts, weakening of the cuticle layers of worms, abrasion of cuticular layers of a wide variety of common terrestrial insects, cytological changes in root systems, and gross changes in root meristems. Air pressures of 120-175 psi produced little injury to the cuticles of nematodes. Exposures to 32-98 psi in sand produced about 20 percent injury in the form of herniation and evisceration. The responses of a wide variety of terrestrial forms to relatively low levels of shock were successfully measured using a methylene blue dye method. It is concluded that abrasion of animal cuticles by soil particles is a promising index of shock injury. (Author).