Winter Temperature Affects Fatty Acid Composition and Gene Expression, but Not Fat Content and Survival in a Northern Population of a Range-Expanding Spider.

ABSTRACT: Species expand their geographic distribution when environmental conditions are favorable or when mutations arise that allow them to live in previously unfavorable conditions. The European wasp spider, Argiope bruennichi, has expanded its range poleward, and populations at the northern edge show higher tolerance to cold and are genetically differentiated from the core populations. We aimed to investigate the degree and limits of plasticity in a recently cold-adapted Estonian population by exposing overwintering juveniles (spiderlings) to three fixed winter regimes over the course of three months. These regimes differed in absolute and relative day and night temperature: cold (5°C day, -15°C night), moderate (5°C day, -5°C night), and warm (15°C day, -5°C night). We expected a differe

SUBMITTER: Ortiz-Movliav C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12658614 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature