Metabolic opportunists: feeding and temperature influence the rate and pattern of respiration in the high arctic woollybear caterpillar gynaephora groenlandica (Lymantriidae)

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.A. Bennett ◽  
O. Kukal ◽  
R.E. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cold Adaptation ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Temperature Influence ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
Polar Environment ◽  
Lepidopteran Larvae ◽  
Gynaephora Groenlandica ◽  
Metabolic Cold Adaptation

Arctic woollybear caterpillars, Gynaephora groenlandica, had the capacity to rapidly and dramatically increase respiration rates up to fourfold within 12–24 h of feeding and exhibited similar decreases in respiration of 60–85 % in as little as 12 h of starvation. At the peak of their feeding season, the respiration rates of caterpillars also increased significantly with temperature from 0.5 to 22 degreesC for both fed and starved caterpillars (Q10=1-5). Indicative of diapause, late season caterpillars had depressed respiration rates which were less sensitive to temperature changes (Q10 approximately 1.5), while respiration rates for caterpillars that had spun hibernacula were even lower. G. groenlandica did not appear to demonstrate metabolic cold adaptation compared with other temperate lepidopteran larvae. The seasonal capacity to adjust metabolic rate rapidly in response to food consumption and temperature (which can be elevated by basking) may promote the efficient acquisition of energy during the brief (1 month) summer growing and feeding season, while conserving energy by entering diapause when conditions are less favorable. These adaptations, along with their long 15–20 year life cycle and the retention of freeze tolerance year-round, promote the survival of G. groenlandica in this harsh polar environment.

Total photosynthetic biomass record between 9400 and 2200 BP and its link to temperature changes at a High Arctic site near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Polar Biology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 991-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongkang Yang ◽  
Jianjun Wang ◽  
Linxi Yuan ◽  
Wenhan Cheng ◽  
Yuhong Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Temperature Changes

scholarly journals Metabolic cold adaptation in fishes occurs at the level of whole animal, mitochondria and enzyme

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1734) ◽  
pp. 1740-1747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig R. White ◽  
Lesley A. Alton ◽  
Peter B. Frappell
Keyword(s):  
High Latitude ◽  
Cold Adaptation ◽  
Citrate Synthase ◽  
High Standard ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Thermal Plasticity ◽  
Metabolic Compensation ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Effects Of Temperature ◽  
Metabolic Cold Adaptation

Metabolic cold adaptation (MCA), the hypothesis that species from cold climates have relatively higher metabolic rates than those from warm climates, was first proposed nearly 100 years ago and remains one of the most controversial hypotheses in physiological ecology. In the present study, we test the MCA hypothesis in fishes at the level of whole animal, mitochondria and enzyme. In support of the MCA hypothesis, we find that when normalized to a common temperature, species with ranges that extend to high latitude (cooler climates) have high aerobic enzyme (citrate synthase) activity, high rates of mitochondrial respiration and high standard metabolic rates. Metabolic compensation for the global temperature gradient is not complete however, so when measured at their habitat temperature species from high latitude have lower absolute rates of metabolism than species from low latitudes. Evolutionary adaptation and thermal plasticity are therefore insufficient to completely overcome the acute thermodynamic effects of temperature, at least in fishes.

Revision of the life history of the High Arctic moth Gynaephora groenlandica (Wocke) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 1371-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Dean Morewood ◽  
Richard A Ring
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Head Capsule ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Laboratory Rearing ◽  
History Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Gynaephora Groenlandica

Many studies have explored the adaptations of arctic and alpine Gynaephora species (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) to their environment, and base-line life-history information is important for the interpretation of such studies. Data and observations on G. groenlandica (Wocke) collected in recent years at Alexandra Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada, contradict some of the life-history information previously published for this species from the same site. Detailed analysis of larval head capsule widths and consideration of growth ratios indicate that there are seven rather than six larval instars and that the pattern of development does not deviate significantly from that defined by the Brooks-Dyar rule. Field-rearing of larvae indicates that first-instar larvae overwinter, while field- and laboratory-rearing both indicate that larvae moult once per year, every year. These data and observations greatly shorten and simplify the life history from that previously published and suggest a life cycle of 7 rather than 14 years. This revised life cycle is not presented as an absolute, in recognition of the potential for individual variation, but rather as typical of the developmental pattern of most of the population. As such, it should provide a useful base line for further studies, especially those addressing the influence of predicted climate change in the Arctic.

Behavioural Thermoregulation in the Freeze-Tolerant Arctic Caterpillar, Gynaephora Groenlandica

1988 ◽  
Vol 138 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
OLGA KUKAL ◽  
BERND HEINRICH ◽  
JOHN G. DUMAN
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Behavioural Thermoregulation ◽  
Body Temperatures ◽  
Feeding Site ◽  
Freeze Tolerant ◽  
Gynaephora Groenlandica

Larvae of the high arctic caterpillar, Gynaephora groenlandica (Wöcke) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) spent most (60 %) of their time orienting towards the sun (i.e. basking) and only 20% feeding, primarily near midday. Larvae usually basked after feeding, then either fed again or moved to a new feeding site. Basking larvae reached their highest body temperatures (Tb) of ≊30°C (≊20°C in excess of the ambient temperature) when surrounded by snow on a calm day in the midday sun. Setae significantly decreased larval cooling rates. Maximal metabolic rates were attained in basking larvae, but at body temperatures below 10°C oxygen uptake was greatly reduced. Our studies indicate that G. groenlandica larvae are behaviourally adapted to utilize available solar radiation for growth and development.

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