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7 - Interactions between cold, desiccation and environmental toxins

from PART I - PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR RESPONSES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 May 2010

By
Martin Holmstrup ,
Mark Bayley ,
Sindre A. Pedersen  and
Karl Erik Zachariassen
Edited by
David L. Denlinger  and
Richard E. Lee, Jr
David L. Denlinger
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
Richard E. Lee, Jr
Affiliation:
Miami University
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Summary

Introduction

Climatic stressors are environmental factors of paramount importance for biological systems. Numerous examples from terrestrial plants and animals show that, in particular, cold and drought are factors that dictate the distribution of species (for a review see Hoffmann and Parsons, 1991). Indeed, sediment records of insect remains have been convincingly used to reconstruct past climates (e.g. Atkinson et al., 1987). Other important types of stress that should also be considered are environmental toxins. These may be of anthropogenic origin, but most originate from natural sources. Potentially toxic trace metals are released into ground water by demineralization of rocks and minerals and enter the food chain via plants. A wide variety of toxic organic compounds are produced by aquatic as well as terrestrial plants and animals as protection against herbivory or predation. Insects (and all other animals) have, during evolution, developed adaptive detoxifying mechanisms to cope with toxic stress. These protective systems are further challenged due to increasing levels of anthropogenic chemical pollution (e.g. pesticides and heavy metals) that have been inflicted on the biosphere at a global scale. Environmental toxins per se can have negative effects on the functioning of organisms, but the possibility also exists that some of these chemicals can impact tolerance mechanisms to dominating climatic variables such as cold and drought.

Insects and other organisms have evolved sophisticated physiological and biochemical mechanisms to cope with different environmental stressors.

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Chapter
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Low Temperature Biology of Insects , pp. 166 - 188
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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