It’s Getting Hot (and Humid) in Here: Effects of Temperature and Relative Humidity on the Metabolic Rates of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.

Abstract

How do humidity and temperature effect an ectotherm’s metabolic rate? We tested the CO2 outputs of Madagascar hissing cockroaches in two different simulated environments—one with the ambient temperature and relative humidity of the lab and one with a temperature of 28.5 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 85%. We hypothesized that the increased temperature and relative humidity would cause an increase in the cockroaches’ metabolic rate. However, our results revealed that the two environments caused little variation of CO2 output.