Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154–4004, USA.
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Climatic variability and hemispheric differences in insect cold tolerance: support from southern Africa
Article first published online: 24 MAY 2005
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00962.x
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How to Cite
SINCLAIR, B. J. and CHOWN, S. L. (2005), Climatic variability and hemispheric differences in insect cold tolerance: support from southern Africa. Functional Ecology, 19: 214–221. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00962.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 24 MAY 2005
- Article first published online: 24 MAY 2005
- Received 23 July 2004; revised 29 November 2004; accepted 2 December 2004
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Keywords:
- Freeze avoidance;
- freeze tolerance;
- macrophysiology;
- microclimate;
- rapid cold-hardening
Summary
- 1Insects generally survive subzero temperatures by utilizing either freeze tolerance or freeze avoidance. Comparative analyses from a limited data set have indicated that freeze tolerance may be predominant among species at temperate latitudes in the southern hemisphere, while freeze avoidance dominates in the north.
- 2We investigated the cold tolerance strategies of cockroaches and beetles from cold regions in southern Africa, including the Cederberg mountains, the Karoo desert and the Drakensberg mountains.
- 3We found that 8 of 11 species are freeze tolerant.
- 4Overall, 77% of species investigated in the southern hemisphere (n = 27) were freeze tolerant, which is significantly different from the 29% (n = 258) in the north (P < 0·001).
- 5There are regular, unpredictable subzero temperature events in the southern African habitats; such variability appears to be a general feature of many cold habitats in the southern hemisphere, which may lead to the observed interhemispheric discrepancies in cold-tolerance strategies.