scholarly journals Survival and energetic costs of repeated cold exposure in the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica: a comparison between frozen and supercooled larvae

2011 ◽  
Vol 214 (5) ◽  
pp. 806-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. M. Teets ◽  
Y. Kawarasaki ◽  
R. E. Lee ◽  
D. L. Denlinger
Keyword(s):  
Cold Exposure ◽  
Energetic Costs ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Rapid stress hardening in the Antarctic midge improves male fertility by increasing courtship success and preventing the decline of accessory gland proteins following cold exposure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun M. Ajayi ◽  
J.D. Gantz ◽  
Geoffrey Finch ◽  
Richard E. Lee ◽  
David L. Denlinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cold Exposure ◽  
Accessory Gland ◽  
Egg Viability ◽  
Accessory Gland Proteins ◽  
Rapid Hardening ◽  
Direct Exposure ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
Courtship Success ◽  
Male Activity ◽  
The Antarctic

Rapid hardening is a process that quickly improves animal performance following exposure to a potentially damaging stress. Features of reproduction can be improved by rapid hardening, but little is known about how rapid hardening may contribute to physiological responses in the cold environment of Antarctica. In this study of the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica (Diptera, Chironomidae), we examine how rapid hardening in response to dehydration (RDH) or cold (RCH) improves male pre- and post-copulatory function related to fertility when the insects are subsequently subjected to a damaging cold exposure. Neither RDH nor RCH improved survival in response to lethal cold stress, but male activity following sublethal cold exposure was enhanced. Both RCH and RDH improved mating success of males compared to those subjected directly to a sublethal bout of cold. Egg viability decreased following direct exposure to sublethal cold, but improved following RCH and RDH. Sublethal cold exposure reduced expression of four accessory gland proteins, while expression remained high in males exposed to RCH. Though rapid hardening may be cryptic in males, this study shows that it can be revealed by pre- and post-copulatory interactions with females.

scholarly journals Changes in Energy Reserves and Gene Expression Elicited by Freezing and Supercooling in the Antarctic Midge, Belgica antarctica

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Teets ◽  
Emma G. Dalrymple ◽  
Maya H. Hillis ◽  
J. D. Gantz ◽  
Drew E. Spacht ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Energetic Costs ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
Freeze Tolerant ◽  
Glycogen Stores ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Stress Gene

Freeze-tolerance, or the ability to survive internal ice formation, is relatively rare among insects. Larvae of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica are freeze-tolerant year-round, but in dry environments, the larvae can remain supercooled (i.e., unfrozen) at subzero temperatures. In previous work with summer-acclimatized larvae, we showed that freezing is considerably more stressful than remaining supercooled. Here, these findings are extended by comparing survival, tissue damage, energetic costs, and stress gene expression in larvae that have undergone an artificial winter acclimation regime and are either frozen or supercooled at −5 °C. In contrast to summer larvae, winter larvae survive at −5 °C equally well for up to 14 days, whether frozen or supercooled, and there is no tissue damage at these conditions. In subsequent experiments, we measured energy stores and stress gene expression following cold exposure at −5 °C for either 24 h or 14 days, with and without a 12 h recovery period. We observed slight energetic costs to freezing, as frozen larvae tended to have lower glycogen stores across all groups. In addition, the abundance of two heat shock protein transcripts, hsp60 and hsp90, tended to be higher in frozen larvae, indicating higher levels of protein damage following freezing. Together, these results indicate a slight cost to being frozen relative to remaining supercooled, which may have implications for the selection of hibernacula and responses to climate change.

scholarly journals Rapid stress hardening in the Antarctic midge improves male fertility by increasing courtship success and preventing decline of accessory gland proteins following cold exposure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun M. Ajayi ◽  
J. D. Gantz ◽  
Geoffrey Finch ◽  
Richard E. Lee Jr. ◽  
David L. Denlinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cold Exposure ◽  
Accessory Gland ◽  
Egg Viability ◽  
Accessory Gland Proteins ◽  
Rapid Hardening ◽  
Direct Exposure ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
Courtship Success ◽  
Male Activity ◽  
The Antarctic

Rapid hardening is a process that quickly improves an animal's performance following exposure to a potentially damaging stress. In this study of the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica (Diptera, Chironomidae), we examine how rapid hardening in response to dehydration (RDH) or cold (RCH) improves male pre- and post-copulatory function when the insects are subsequently subjected to a damaging cold exposure. Neither RDH nor RCH improved survival in response to lethal cold stress, but male activity and mating success following sublethal cold exposure was enhanced. Egg viability decreased following direct exposure of the mating males to sublethal cold but improved following RCH and RDH. Sublethal cold exposure reduced expression of four accessory gland proteins, while expression remained high in males exposed to RCH. Though rapid hardening may be cryptic in males, this study shows that it can be revealed by pre- and post-copulatory interactions with females.

Life history traits of adults and embryos of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica

Polar Biology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1213-1217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eri Harada ◽  
Richard E. Lee ◽  
David L. Denlinger ◽  
Shin G. Goto
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Environmental factors influencing fine-scale distribution of Antarctica’s only endemic insect

Oecologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 194 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-539
Author(s):  
Leslie J. Potts ◽  
J. D. Gantz ◽  
Yuta Kawarasaki ◽  
Benjamin N. Philip ◽  
David J. Gonthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Species Distributions ◽  
Biotic Factors ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
Abiotic And Biotic Factors ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractSpecies distributions are dependent on interactions with abiotic and biotic factors in the environment. Abiotic factors like temperature, moisture, and soil nutrients, along with biotic interactions within and between species, can all have strong influences on spatial distributions of plants and animals. Terrestrial Antarctic habitats are relatively simple and thus good systems to study ecological factors that drive species distributions and abundance. However, these environments are also sensitive to perturbation, and thus understanding the ecological drivers of species distribution is critical for predicting responses to environmental change. The Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, is the only endemic insect on the continent and has a patchy distribution along the Antarctic Peninsula. While its life history and physiology are well studied, factors that underlie variation in population density within its range are unknown. Previous work on Antarctic microfauna indicates that distribution over broad scales is primarily regulated by soil moisture, nitrogen content, and the presence of suitable plant life, but whether these patterns are true over smaller spatial scales has not been investigated. Here we sampled midges across five islands on the Antarctic Peninsula and tested a series of hypotheses to determine the relative influences of abiotic and biotic factors on midge abundance. While historical literature suggests that Antarctic organisms are limited by the abiotic environment, our best-supported hypothesis indicated that abundance is predicted by a combination of abiotic and biotic conditions. Our results are consistent with a growing body of literature that biotic interactions are more important in Antarctic ecosystems than historically appreciated.

Metabolomics reveals unique and shared metabolic changes in response to heat shock, freezing and desiccation in the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Robert Michaud ◽  
Joshua B. Benoit ◽  
Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez ◽  
Michael A. Elnitsky ◽  
Richard E. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Shock ◽  
Metabolic Changes ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Osmoregulation and salinity tolerance in the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica: seawater exposure confers enhanced tolerance to freezing and dehydration

2009 ◽  
Vol 212 (17) ◽  
pp. 2864-2871 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Elnitsky ◽  
J. B. Benoit ◽  
G. Lopez-Martinez ◽  
D. L. Denlinger ◽  
R. E. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Salinity Tolerance ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
The Antarctic

scholarly journals Slow dehydration promotes desiccation and freeze tolerance in the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica

2007 ◽  
Vol 210 (5) ◽  
pp. 836-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. L. Hayward ◽  
J. P. Rinehart ◽  
L. H. Sandro ◽  
R. E. Lee ◽  
D. L. Denlinger
Keyword(s):  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Belgica Antarctica ◽  
The Antarctic
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