Inhibitory effects of climate change on the growth and extracellular enzyme activities of a widespread Antarctic soil fungus.

Temperatures approaching or exceeding 20°C have been measured during summer in polar regions at the surfaces of barren fellfield soils under cloudless skies around solar noon. However, despite the upper temperature limit for the growth of cold-adapted microbes-which are abundant in polar soils and have pivotal roles in nutrient cycling-typically being close to this temperature, previous studies have not addressed the consequences of climate change for the metabolism of these organisms in the natural environment. Here in a 5-year field experiment on Alexander Island in the southern maritime Antarctic, we show that the abundance of Pseudogymnoascus roseus, the most widespread decomposer fungus in maritime Antarctic fellfield soils, is reduced by 1-2 orders of magnitude when irrigated and nutrient-amended soils are warmed to >20°C during summer.

Temperature adaptation of lipids in diapausing Ostrinia nubilalis: an experimental study to distinguish environmental versus endogenous controls.

Larvae of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hubn.) were cold acclimated during different phases of diapause to determine if changes in the fatty acid composition lipids occur as part of a programmed diapause strategy, or as a response to low temperatures during winter. Cold acclimation of fifth instar larvae of O.

Responses of invertebrates to temperature and water stress: A polar perspective.

As small bodied poikilothermic ectotherms, invertebrates, more so than any other animal group, are susceptible to extremes of temperature and low water availability. In few places is this more apparent than in the Arctic and Antarctic, where low temperatures predominate and water is unusable during winter and unavailable for parts of summer. Polar terrestrial invertebrates express a suite of physiological, biochemical and genomic features in response to these stressors.

Diapause induces remodeling of the fatty acid composition of membrane and storage lipids in overwintering larvae of Ostrinia nubilalis, Hubn. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

Seasonal changes in the FA composition of triacylglycerols and phospholipids prepared from the whole bodies of non-diapausing and diapausing fifth instar larvae of Ostrinia nubilalis, Hubn. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) were determined to evaluate the role of these lipids in diapause. Substantial changes in the FA composition of triacylglycerols and phospholipids were triggered by diapause development.

Are the Antarctic dipteran, Eretmoptera murphyi, and Arctic collembolan, Megaphorura arctica, vulnerable to rising temperatures?

Polar terrestrial invertebrates are suggested as being vulnerable to temperature change relative to lower latitude species, and hence possibly also to climate warming. Previous studies have shown Antarctic and Arctic Collembola and Acari to possess good heat tolerance and survive temperature exposures above 30 °C. To test this feature further, the heat tolerance and physiological plasticity of heat stress were explored in the Arctic collembolan, Megaphorura arctica, from Svalbard and the Antarctic midge, Eretmoptera murphyi, from Signy Island.