Meeting Abstract

S9-1.1  Monday, Jan. 7  Cross-tolerance and cross-talk in the cold: relationships between low temperature and other stressors in insects SINCLAIR, BJ*; MACMILLAN, HA; FERGUSON, LV; SALEHIPOUR, G; University of Western Ontario bsincla7@uwo.ca

Insects are the most successful group of terrestrial animals, having overcome the challenges of variable temperatures and desiccating conditions. Overwintering temperate, polar and alpine insects are exposed simultaneously to a range of stressors, among which low temperature, desiccation, and starvation are the most important in determining insect success. Molecular and physiological evidence suggests that physiological responses to these stresses are often shared or co-activated. In addition, multiple lines of evidence suggest that exposure to low temperature activates the insect immune system, likely resulting in important consequences for insect-parasite interactions and overwintering success. How biotic and abiotic stressors, and the responses to them, may interact in the face of climate change is unclear, partly due to the poorly understood effects of climate change on microhabitat. Both synergistic and antagonistic interactions among these stressors are possible, and there is potential for the cold stress-immune response axis to mediate significant impacts of climate change on overwintering insects via enhancement of biotic interactions caused by responses to abiotic stress.