Data from: Age-dependent effects of water striders moving on perturbed water surfaces

Surface roughness is a ubiquitous phenomenon in both oceanic and terrestrial waters. For insects that live at the air-water interface, such as water striders, non-linear and multi-scale perturbations produce dynamic surface deformations which may impair locomotion. We studied escape jumps of adults, juveniles, and first-instar larvae of the water strider Aquarius remigis on smooth, wave-dominated, and bubble-dominated water surfaces. Effects of substrate on takeoff jumps were substantial, with significant reductions in take-off angles, peak translational speeds, attained heights, and power expenditure on more perturbed water surfaces. Age effects were similarly pronounced, with the first-instar larvae experiencing the greatest degradation in performance; age-by-treatment effects were also significant for many kinematic variables. Although commonplace in nature, perturbed water surfaces thus have significant and age-dependent effects on water strider locomotion, and on behavior more generally of surface-dwelling insects.

表面粗糙度是海洋与陆地水域中普遍存在的现象。对于栖息于气水交界面的昆虫（如水黾（water strider））而言，非线性多尺度扰动会引发动态表面形变，进而损害其运动能力。我们以横纹水黾（Aquarius remigis）的成虫、若虫以及一龄幼虫为研究对象，考察其在光滑水面、波浪主导型水面与气泡主导型水面上的逃逸跳跃行为。水面基质对起跳跳跃行为的影响极为显著：在扰动程度更高的水面上，起跳角度、峰值平移速度、起跳高度与能量消耗均出现显著降低。发育阶段效应同样显著，其中一龄幼虫的运动表现退化程度最为严重；处理方式×发育阶段的交互效应在诸多运动学变量上也均达到显著水平。尽管扰动水面在自然界中极为常见，但此类水面会对水黾的运动行为，以及更多表层栖息昆虫的整体行为产生显著且依赖于发育阶段的影响。