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Thermal Limits Of Summer-Collected Pardosa Wolf Spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) From The Yukon Territory And Greenland, Susan E. Anthony, Christopher M. Buddle, Toke T. Høye, Brent J. Sinclair

Biology Publications

Arctic and sub-Arctic terrestrial ectotherms contend with large daily and seasonal temperature ranges. However, there are few data available on the thermal biology of these high-latitude species, especially arachnids. We determined the lower and upper thermal limits of seven species of wolf spider from the genus Pardosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) collected in summer from the Yukon Territory (Canada) and Southern Greenland. None of these species survived freezing, and while spiderlings appeared freeze-avoidant, surviving to their supercooling point (SCP, the temperature at which they spontaneously freeze), chill-susceptible adults and juveniles died at temperatures above their SCP. The critical thermal minimum (CTmin, the …