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Overwintering Energetics Of Lepidoptera: The Effects Of Winter Warming And Thermal Variability., Caroline M. Williams

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Winter temperatures are changing rapidly, and although winter warming reduces cold stress for overwintering ectotherms, temperature-mediated increases in metabolic rate can decrease fitness in dormant insects by increasing consumption of energy reserves. Increases in thermal variability also increase energetic demands, due to non-linear thermal response curves. My objective was to quantify the negative effects of winter warming and increases in thermal variability on a range of Lepidopteran species. As overwintering insects rely on lipid catabolism, accurate lipid measurement is central to my dissertation; so I first compared four methods of lipid quantification; concluding thin layer chromatography was the only method …