Low temperature biology of insects

低温，特别是冬季的低温，对昆虫的种群生物学和分布有重要影响。这项研究的重点是了解昆虫是如何生存(和茁壮成长！)在低温下。我们将研究越冬条件对不列颠哥伦比亚省和安大略省西南部地点昆虫的影响，长期目标是预测昆虫将如何应对气候变化的冬季条件变化。尤其是，研究将侧重于现实世界中看到的温度波动，例如安大略省西南部常见的反复冻融循环，如何影响昆虫的生存和繁殖。我们不仅将研究生存机制和策略，还将测量实验室和野外的新陈代谢和能量储备，并将我们的工作与观察到的气候和研究昆虫种群周期和北部活动范围限制的合作者联系起来。该计划的第二部分将调查决定昆虫在低温(一种称为冷昏迷的状态)下瘫痪的时间和原因的生化和分子机制。我们的研究将结合使用实验室模型昆虫(包括果蝇和Tribolium面粉甲虫)、野生昆虫(包括燕尾蝴蝶)和大量害虫，如科罗拉多州土豆甲虫。

Low temperatures, especially in winter, are an important influence on the population biology and distribution of insects.  The focus of this research is to understand how insects survive (and thrive!) at low temperatures.  We will study the ways in which overwintering conditions affect insects at sites in British Columbia and southwestern Ontario, with a long term goal of predicting how insects will respond to changing winter conditions with climate change.  In particular, the research will focus on how the fluctuations in temperature seen in the real world, for example the repeated freeze-thaw cycles common in SW Ontario, affect insect survival and reproduction.  We will not only look at survival mechanisms and strategies, but also measure metabolism and energy reserves both in the lab and the field, and link our work to observed climate and to collaborators investigating population cycles and northern range limits in insects.  A second part of the program will investigate the biochemical and molecular mechanisms that determine when and why insects are paralyzed at low temperatures (a state called chill coma).  Our research will use a combination of laboratory model insects (including Drosophila fruit flies and Tribolium flour beetles), wild insects (including swallowtail butterflies) and abundant insect pests like the Colorado potato beetle.