Overwintering of the boreal butterfly Colias palaeno in Central Europe

0435537 - BC 2015 RIV GB eng J - Článek v odborném periodiku
Vrba, P. - Dolek, M. - Nedvěd, Oldřich - Zahradníčková, Helena - Cerrato, C. - Konvička, Martin
Overwintering of the boreal butterfly Colias palaeno in Central Europe.
Cryo-letters. Roč. 35, č. 3 (2014), s. 247-254. ISSN 0143-2044. E-ISSN 1742-0644
Grant CEP: GA ČR GAP505/10/2167
Grant ostatní: GA ČR(CZ) GAP505/10/1630; GA JU(CZ) 144/2010/100
Institucionální podpora: RVO:60077344
Klíčová slova: cold hardiness * cryoprotective polyols * insect conservation
Kód oboru RIV: ED - Fyziologie
Impakt faktor: 1.140, rok: 2014

BACKGROUND: Colias palaeno (Linnaeus, 1761) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) is a butterfly with boreal distribution with declining populations in peat bogs and subalpine habitats in Central Europe. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the cold tolerance of overwintering caterpillars from one mountain population from Czech Republic (960m a.s.l.) and one alpine population from Italy (2000m a.s.l.). METHODS: We measured supercooling point (SCP), lower lethal temperature (LLT) and content of cryoprotectants. RESULTS: The caterpillars were freeze-avoiding, with lower LLT close to their very low SCP (-25 to -27 degrees C). The mountain population accumulated high concentrations of glycerol (5% fresh mass) and sugars (trehalose 0.8%, glucose 0.2%), while the Italian alpine population only moderate amounts of glycerol (0.3%) and sugars (trehalose 0.5%, glucose 0.3%) without effect on their cold hardiness. Larvae that overwintered at +5 degrees C had a lower body mass than those overwintering in natural conditions, indicating a metabolic weight loss, but both groups survived equally well. CONCLUSION: We hypothesize that the high concentration of glycerol contributes to the high desiccation tolerance.
Trvalý link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0239428