Integrative biology of insects at low temperatures

大多数温带昆虫花了一半以上的生命越冬。 越冬成功对昆虫种群和生态系统功能非常重要。 这项研究将在多个层面上探索昆虫越冬，从分子机制到大规模的地理模式，旨在提高我们预测气候（和气候变化）对昆虫种群影响的能力。 提出了五个主要方向。 1)我的实验室最近的工作表明，蟋蟀在中等低温下死亡，因为它们无法控制肠道中的水和离子平衡。 我建议在一系列物种中研究这一点，以确定它是否是昆虫冷害的一般解释，并确定失败和导致不平衡的机制。 2)我将研究钠-钾-ATP酶离子泵的故障是否是昆虫在低温下停止移动（进入寒冷昏迷）的原因。 3)最近的研究表明，暴露在寒冷中的昆虫会上调它们的免疫系统。 我将研究免疫反应和耐寒性之间的相互作用，以了解这是如何发生的，并确定免疫反应增加的原因。 4)东部云杉芽虫是一种毁灭性的北方森林害虫。 我将利用基因表达的研究来确定越冬幼虫的状况。 从长远来看，这将导致诊断工具，将允许越冬人口的生理状态-因此，他们随后的表现-被评估作为该物种的管理策略的一部分。 5)杨柳叶甲是西部山区广泛分布的山地食草性昆虫。 温暖的冬天对这个物种来说可能是好的，因为它们减少了潜在致命的寒冷暴露的发生率，但积雪的变化将改变寒冷暴露的时间以及所使用的能量。 能源使用和。 我将使用现场和实验室研究相结合，探索不断变化的高山气候的各个方面之间的相互作用，开发气候变化对这个物种的影响的预测模型。 这项工作将大大推进我们对低温下昆虫生物学的理解，也将有助于预测昆虫对气候变化的反应，这将广泛应用于农业，林业，入侵物种管理和保护。

Most temperate insects spend more than half their lives overwintering. Overwintering success can be very important for insect populations and therefore ecosystem function. The proposed research will explore insect overwintering at multiple levels, from molecular mechanisms to large-scale geographic patterns, with the intention of improving our ability to predict the effects of climate (and climate change) on insect populations. Five main directions are proposed. 1) Recent work in my lab suggests that crickets die at moderately low temperatures because they are unable to control water and ion balance in their gut. I propose to study this in a range of species to determine whether it is a general explanation for insect chilling injury, and to identify the mechanisms that fail and lead to the imbalances. 2) I will investigate whether failure of the sodium- potassium-ATPase ion pump is the reason that insects stop being able to move (enter chill coma) at low temperatures. 3) Recent work suggests that cold-exposed insects upregulate their immune systems. I will investigate the interplay between immune responses and cold tolerance, with a view to understanding how this happens, and to identify the reasons for the increased immune response. 4) The eastern spruce budworm is a devastating boreal forest pest. I will use studies of gene expression to determine the condition of overwintering larvae. In the long term, this will lead to diagnostic tools that will allow the physiological state of the overwintering population - and therefore their subsequent performance - to be assessed as part of the management strategies for this species. 5) The willow leaf beetle, Chrysomela aeneicollis, is a widespread montane herbivorous insect in the Western mountains. Warmer winters can be good for this species, because they reduce the incidence of potentially lethal cold exposure, but changes in snow cover will modify the timing of cold exposure as well as the amount of energy used. energy use and . I will use a combination of field and laboratory studies to explore the interplay between aspects of changing alpine climate to develop a predictive model of climate change effects on this species. This work will significantly advance our understanding of insect biology at low temperatures, and will also help to predict the responses of insects to changing climates, which will be widely applicable in agriculture, forestry, invasive species management and conservation.