Microhabitat, microbiota, mitochondria and the epigenome shape the biparental legacy of heat exposure in a tropical arthropod
type: CreativeWork
description: As technology and policy advance towards sustainable energy sources, humanity is reaching a critical climax regarding climate change. Average global surface temperatures have risen by 1oC since pre-industrial levels, and it is estimated that temperatures will continue to rise by at least 1.5oC until at least 2100, despite mitigation efforts. The effect that such warming will have on biodiversity remains undetermined. Warming will likely have a substantial impact on tropical regions, which are a hotbed for biodiversity, and warming in tropical regions has already been associated with massive declines in species population numbers. Whether biodiversity will continue to decline, culminating in mass extinction, due to climate change depends on the ability of tropical species to adapt to new thermal limits. Tropical regions exhibit low seasonal variability, thus tropical species are adapted to little variation in environmental conditions and rapid increases in temperature may prove unsustainable for life. Tropical arthropods make up the majority of species in the tropics, with 1.3 million species described, and the true estimate at several million species. However, they are at especially high risk, since as ectotherms, arthropod metabolism increases exponentially with increases in ambient temperature. Understanding the effect of temperature on tropical arthropods is crucial to understanding biome dynamics to target conservation efforts as the planet continues to warm. Epigenetic mechanisms, or changes in gene expression without changes in the genetic sequence, provide a short-term plastic way for tropical arthropods to respond to climate change. Here,i I utilize a model ectothermic arthropod, Cordylochernes scorpioides, to investigate: (1) behavioral mechanisms for moderation of the effects of high temperature; (2) phenotypic, genetic and epigenetic effects of high temperature exposure on intergenerational inheritance, and (3) the microbial composition of individuals exp…
abstract: As technology and policy advance towards sustainable energy sources, humanity is reaching a critical climax regarding climate change. Average global surface temperatures have risen by 1oC since pre-industrial levels, and it is estimated that temperatures will continue to rise by at least 1.5oC until at least 2100, despite mitigation efforts. The effect that such warming will have on biodiversity remains undetermined. Warming will likely have a substantial impact on tropical regions, which are a hotbed for biodiversity, and warming in tropical regions has already been associated with massive declines in species population numbers. Whether biodiversity will continue to decline, culminating in mass extinction, due to climate change depends on the ability of tropical species to adapt to new thermal limits. Tropical regions exhibit low seasonal variability, thus tropical species are adapted to little variation in environmental conditions and rapid increases in temperature may prove unsustainable for life. Tropical arthropods make up the majority of species in the tropics, with 1.3 million species described, and the true estimate at several million species. However, they are at especially high risk, since as ectotherms, arthropod metabolism increases exponentially with increases in ambient temperature. Understanding the effect of temperature on tropical arthropods is crucial to understanding biome dynamics to target conservation efforts as the planet continues to warm. Epigenetic mechanisms, or changes in gene expression without changes in the genetic sequence, provide a short-term plastic way for tropical arthropods to respond to climate change. Here,i I utilize a model ectothermic arthropod, Cordylochernes scorpioides, to investigate: (1) behavioral mechanisms for moderation of the effects of high temperature; (2) phenotypic, genetic and epigenetic effects of high temperature exposure on intergenerational inheritance, and (3) the microbial composition of individuals exp…
author: Zawlodzki, Maya
keywords: climate change, epigenetics, microbiome, microclimate, plasticity, transposable elements
date published: 2022
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:47:14Z
provider: University of Nevada - Reno
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Nevada - Reno

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11714/8235