Biology of Arthropods at low temperatures

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Arthropods are the most successful terrestrial animals, despite their inability to maintain a stable body temperature. Nevertheless, they dominate temperate and polar ecosystems, tolerating temperatures where they risk freezing. Strategies used by cold-tolerant arthropods are generally divided into freeze tolerance (withstand internal ice formation) and freeze avoidance (survive low temperatures, but killed by internal ice formation). My long term objective is to understand the mechanisms that allow some arthropods to survive and thrive in cold environments. I propose to address three major unknowns in low temperature physiology: 1) how some insects survive being frozen solid, 2) how insects protect their cells from non-freezing cold, and 3) how arachnids thrive in the Arctic in spite of challenging winters.