ORCID Profile
0000-0002-0838-4008
Current Organisations
Aalborg Universitet
,
Aalborg University
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Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 24-01-2022
Abstract: Understanding how environmental factors affect the thermal tolerance of species is crucial for predicting the impact of thermal stress on species abundance and distribution. To date, species' responses to thermal stress are typically assessed on laboratory-reared in iduals and using coarse, low-resolution, climate data that may not reflect microhabitat dynamics at a relevant scale. Here, we examine the daily temporal variation in heat tolerance in a range of species in their natural environments across temperate and tropical Australia. In iduals were collected in their habitats throughout the day and tested for heat tolerance immediately thereafter, while local microclimates were recorded at the collection sites. We found high levels of plasticity in heat tolerance across all the tested species. Both short- and long-term variability of temperature and humidity affected plastic adjustments of heat tolerance within and across days, but with species differences. Our results reveal that plastic changes in heat tolerance occur rapidly at a daily scale and that environmental factors on a relatively short timescale are important drivers of the observed variation in thermal tolerance. Ignoring such fine-scale physiological processes in distribution models might obscure conclusions about species' range shifts with global climate change. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Species’ ranges in the face of changing environments (part 1)’.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.JINSPHYS.2008.11.010
Abstract: Humidity has a large impact on the distribution and abundance of terrestrial invertebrates, but the molecular mechanisms governing drought resistance are not fully understood. Some attention has been given to the role of the heat shock response as a component of desiccation tolerance, but recent focus has been on the chaperone-like LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins in anhydrobiotic animals. This study investigates the expression of putative LEA proteins as well as the heat shock protein Hsp70 during drought stress in soil and surface dwelling species of Collembola (springtails). In silico analysis of four EST candidates from two species of Collembola showed the presence of a Group 3 LEA protein in Megaphorura arctica. In common with other Group 3 LEA proteins, the new sequence is predicted to be 100% natively unfolded, with a strong degree of lysine and alanine periodicity and with a negative average hydrophobicity of -1.273. The sequence clusters with members of the Group 3 LEA in plants. Furthermore, cross-species Western blotting showed drought-induced expression of putative LEA proteins in six species of Collembola. In the surface dwelling species, Orchesella cincta, degree of dehydration and length of exposure correlated with level of putative LEA protein. Hsp70 was also found to increase in in iduals of O. cincta and Folsomia candida that had been exposed to drought conditions for 6 days. These results show the presence of a LEA protein-coding region in Collembola, but also indicate that several proteins are involved in response to dehydration stress, including Hsp70.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.ENVPOL.2005.05.024
Abstract: Chironomids may adapt to pollution stress but data are confined to species that can be reared in the laboratory. A microcosm approach was used to test for adaptation and species differences in heavy metal tolerance. In one experiment, microcosms containing different levels of contaminants were placed in polluted and reference locations. The response of Chironomus februarius to metal contaminants suggested local adaptation: relatively more flies emerged from clean sediment at the reference site and the reverse pattern occurred at the polluted site. However, maternal effects were not specifically ruled out. In another species, Kiefferulus intertinctus, there was no evidence for adaptation. In a second experiment, microcosms with different contaminant levels were placed at two polluted and two unpolluted sites. Species responded differently to contaminants, but there was no evidence for adaptation in the species where this could be tested. Adaptation to heavy metals may be uncommon and species specific, but more sensitive species need to be tested across a range of pollution levels. Factors influencing the likelihood of adaptation are briefly discussed.
No related grants have been discovered for Simon Bahrndorff.