Kinetics of active and passive components of water exchange between the air and a mite, Dermatophagoides farinae

Female North American house dust mites were found to exchange water with the ambient air from two compartments. At humidities above the critical equilibrium activity (CEA), transpiration out of a single large compartment was observed using HTO as a tracer for water. Total sorption into this compartment was also observed by following changes in the specific radioactivity. The sorption data required that an active process or pump be present. The water in this pump is the second compartment above the CEA. Below the CEA the large compartment could be identified as a compartment characterized by a small transpiration rate constant. The pump below the CEA becomes a rapidly transpiring fast compartment. By separating the water pool into two compartments, it was possible to relate a v to k and m ̇ S . The major effect of a v on k was related to its effect on the permeability of the cuticle. The influence of a v on m ̇ S was different for active and passive sorption. Above the CEA the pump operated at full capacity and active m ̇ S was directly proportional to a v. Passive sorption was influenced by a v in two ways. The driving force for m ̇ S was further reduced below saturation by the effect of a v on the permeability of the exchange surface.