Low temperature biology of insects / edited by David L. Denlinger, Richard E. Lee, Jr.

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

A primer on insect cold-tolerance / Richard E. Lee Jr. -- Rapid cold-hardening : ecological significance and underpinning mechanisms / Richard E. Lee Jr. and David L. Denlinger -- Antifreeze and ice-nucleator proteins / John G. Duman [and others] -- Genomics, proteomics and metabolomics : finding the other players in insect cold-tolerance / M. Robert Michaud and David L. Denlinger -- Cell structural modifications in insects at low temperatures / Vladimír Koštál -- Oxygen : stress and adaptation in cold-hardy insects / Kenneth B. Storey and Janet M. Storey -- Interactions between cold, desiccation and environmental toxins / Martin Holmstrup [and others] -- The macrophysiology of insect cold-hardiness / Steven L. Chown and Brent J. Sinclair -- Evolutionary physiology of insect thermal adaptation to cold environments / Raymond B. Huey -- Insects at not so low temperature : climate change in the temperate zone and its biotic consequences / William E. Bradshaw and Christina M. Holzapfel -- Genetic variability and evolution of cold-tolerance / Johannes Overgaard, Jesper G. Sørensen and Volker Loeschcke -- Life history adaptations to polar and alpine environments / Peter Convey -- A template for insect cryopreservation / Roger A. Leopold and Joseph P. Rinehart -- Implications of cold tolerance for pest management / Jeffrey S. Bale.

Low temperature is a major environmental constraint impacting the geographic distribution and seasonal activity patterns of insects. Written for academic researchers in environmental physiology and entomology, this book explores the physiological and molecular mechanisms that enable insects to cope with a cold environment and places these findings into an evolutionary and ecological context. An introductory chapter provides a primer on insect cold tolerance and subsequent chapters in the first section discuss the organismal, cellular and molecular responses that allow insects to survive in the cold despite their, at best, limited ability to regulate their own body temperature. The second section, highlighting the evolutionary and macrophysiological responses to low temperature, is especially relevant for understanding the impact of global climate change on insect systems. A final section translates the knowledge gained from the rest of the book into practical applications including cryopreservation and the augmentation of pest management strategies.