Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarctica's only endemic insect
Cite as
Devlin, J., Convey, P., Elnitsky, M., Gantz, J., Hayward, S., Hotaling, S., et al. (2023) "Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarctica's only endemic insect" U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Data Center. doi: https://doi.org/None.
AMD - DIF Record(s)
Abstract
Antarctic winters are challenging for terrestrial invertebrates, and species that
live there have specialised adaptations to conserve energy and protect against
cold injury in the winter. However, rapidly occurring climate change in these
regions will increase the unpredictability of winter conditions, and there is
currently a dearth of knowledge on how the highly adapted invertebrates of
Antarctica will respond to changes in winter temperatures.
2. We evaluated the response of larvae of the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica,
to simulated winters at three ecologically relevant mean temperature scenarios:
warm (−1°C), normal (−3°C) and cold (−5°C). Within each scenario, larvae were
placed into three distinct habitat types in which they are commonly observed
(decaying organic matter, living moss, and Prasiola crispa algae). Following the
simulated overwintering period, a range of physiological outcomes were measured,
namely survival, locomotor activity, tissue damage, energy store levels and
molecular stress responses.
3. Survival, energy stores and locomotor activity were significantly lower following
the Warm overwintering environment than at lower temperatures, but tissue
damage and heat shock protein expression (a proxy for protein damage) did not
significantly differ between the three temperatures. Survival was also significantly
lower in larvae overwintered in Prasiola crispa algae, although the underlying
mechanism is unclear. Heat shock proteins were expressed least in larvae
overwintering in living moss, suggesting it is less stressful to overwinter in this
substrate, perhaps due to a more defined structure affording less direct contact
with ice.
4. Our results demonstrate that a realistic 2°C increase in winter microhabitat temperature
reduces survival and causes energy deficits that have implications for subsequent
development and reproduction. While our Warm winter scenario was close tothe range of observed overwintering temperatures for this species, warmer winters
are expected to become more common in response to climate change. Conversely,
if climate change reduces the length of winter, some of the negative consequences
of winter warming may be attenuated, so it will be important to consider this factor
in future studies. Nonetheless, our results indicate that winter warming could
negatively impact cold-adapted insects such as the Antarctic midge.
Creator(s):
Devlin, Jack;
Unfried, Laura;
McCabe, Eleanor;
Gantz, Josiah D.;
Kawarasaki, Yuta;
Elnitsky, Michael;
Hotaling, Scott;
Michel, Andrew;
Convey, Peter;
Hayward, Scott;
Teets, Nicholas
Date Created:
2023-06-11
Repository:
USAP-DC (current)
Spatial Extent(s)
West: -64.366767, East: -60.616133, South: -65.407677, North: -62.681
Award(s)
Version:
1
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