In a factorial experiment, fifth-instar Locusta migratoria (L.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae) were given either dry food (lyophilized grass) and drinking water, food only, water only, or neither food nor water. Food consumption and insect weight were measured daily, and the behaviour of each locust was recorded for 5 h on each of four consecutive days and for 2.5 h on the fifth. Consumption declined progressively in locusts given food only, and those given water only were not observed to drink after the first day of food deprivation. The decline in food consumption on the first day was accounted for by a decrease in the average duration of feeds, which remained constant thereafter. The further decline in consumption over subsequent days was due to a progressive decline in the number of feeds. Although food availability did not slow weight loss relative to locusts given neither food nor water, the availability of water without food did. The proportion of time locomoting increased in all deprivation treatments, but the pattern of change across the five observation days differed markedly between treatments. Locusts given food but no water increased locomotion from 20% of the time budget (the value for controls) to 30% on the first day of deprivation, and by the second day had reached a plateau of approximately 65%, which was maintained until the experiment was terminated on day 5. In contrast, locusts given water but no food approached the 65% level of locomotion on the first day, which was statistically greater than the 55% observed in those deprived of both food and water. This increase was due both to an increase in the number of locomotion bouts initiated and an increase in the average duration of locomotion bouts. On the second and third days, all deprivation treatments maintained locomotion at around 65%. By day 4, locomotion had decreased to approximately 15% in locusts deprived of both food and water, but not in those deprived of food only or water only. Unlike those given only food, locusts given only water showed a reduction in locomotion of c. 15% on the fifth day.

A study was undertaken to investigate the effects of surgical procedures on food and water intake and spontaneous locomotor activity in laboratory rats. The influence of anaesthesia with halothane and administration of the opioid analgesic nalbuphine was investigated in normal rats and in animals which underwent either unilateral nephrectomy or jugular vein cannulation. Both nephrectomy and jugular cannulation were associated with a significant reduction in food and water consumption and a depression in locomotor activity levels. The reduction in activity following nephrectomy was reversed by administration of 6 doses of nalbuphine at 4 hourly intervals. Administration of nalbuphine at the same dose rate following halothane anaesthesia in normal rats resulted in a stimulation of activity. The prevention of the depressant effects of surgery by this opioid appears to be due to its stimulatory effect rather than a specific analgesic action. The degree of depression of food and water consumption after nephrectomy was significantly reduced following 6 doses of nalbuphine. This beneficial effect of repeated administration of an opioid may be related to the compound's analgesic action.

Many environmental stressors naturally covary, and the frequency and duration of stressors such as heat waves and droughts are increasing globally with climate change. Multiple stressors may have additive or non-additive effects on fitness-related traits, such as locomotion, reproduction, and somatic growth. Despite its importance to terrestrial animals, water availability is rarely incorporated into multiple-stressor frameworks. Water limitation often occurs concurrently with food limitation (e.g., droughts can trigger famines), and the acquisition of water and food can be linked because water is necessary for digestion and metabolism. Thus, we investigated the independent and interactive effects of water and food limitation on life-history traits using female crickets (Gryllus firmus), which exhibit a wing dimorphism mediating a life-history trade-off between flight and fecundity. Our results indicate that traits vary in their sensitivities to environmental factors and factor–factor interactions. For example, neither environmental factor affected flight musculature, only water limitation affected survival, and food and water availability non-additively (i.e., interactively) influenced body and ovary mass. Water availability had a larger effect on traits than food availability, affected more traits than food availability, and mediated the effects of food availability. Further, life-history strategy influenced the costs of multiple stressors because females investing in flight capacity exhibited greater reductions in body and ovary mass during stress relative to females lacking flight capacity. Therefore, water is important in the multiple-stressor framework, and understanding the dynamics of covarying environmental factors and life history may be critical in the context of climate change characterized by concurrent environmental stressors.

Locomotor activity and food and water consumption are potentially indices of post-operative pain in laboratory rodents, but it is important to establish whether these variables are directly affected by opioid analgesics or by halothane anaesthesia in normal rats. The effects of three opioids, buprenorphine, nalbuphine and butorphanol administered alone or following halothane anaesthesia, were studied in groups of normal non-operated adult Wistar rats. All 3 analgesics affected food intake and activity levels, but had little or no effect on water intake. Buprenorphine caused a significant elevation of activity levels and a reduction in food intake at clinical doses (0·01 and 0·05 mg/kg s/c). Nalbuphine (0·5, 1 and 2 mg/kg s/c) caused a reduction in food intake but had a smaller stimulatory effect on locomotion. Butorphanol (0·4 mg/kg s/c) caused a reduction in food intake and elevation in activity. These results suggest that water consumption is likely to be a more reliable variable to use when assessing post-operative pain and the efficacy of analgesics in rats.