Abstract
To survive in Antarctica, animals must be tolerant of a wide range of environmental conditions. These include extremely strong winds, the state of water (whether it is liquid or solid) and extreme seasonality, which affects food supply and results in prolonged periods of light or darkness. The Antarctic continent and its surrounding oceans are cold, and animals that are successful must be adapted to survive at extreme temperatures. Terrestrial animals must withstand great daily and seasonal temperature changes, and any adaptations are influenced by the animal’s immediate environment. Daytime summer temperatures on north-facing rock surfaces can reach over 20 °C, while these same rocks in winter can fall to below −40 °C. On a daily basis, terrestrial temperatures in summer can fluctuate by more than 30 °C. By contrast, animals living in the sea have a very constant temperature regime, with temperatures in the Ross Sea at minus 1.9 °C year round (Hunt et al., Antarc Sci 15(3):333–338, 2003). This chapter focuses on ectotherms, animals whose body temperatures match environmental temperature. Endotherms such as penguins and seals, which can regulate their body temperature, also require adaptations for life in Antarctica (Chap. 10), but these are mainly related to staying at a constant, warm body temperature and involve blubber, fur and feathers; similar to what is required by their more northerly cousins.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Block W (1990) Cold tolerance of insects and other arthropods. Philos Trans R Soc B-Biol Sci 326(1237):613. doi:10.1098/rstb.1990.0035
Block W (1994) Terrestrial ecosystems – Antarctica. Polar Biol 14(5):293–300
Cannon RJC, Block W (1988) Cold tolerance of microarthropods. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 63(1):23–77. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.1988.tb00468.x
Cheng CHC, Cziko PA, Evans CW (2006) Nonhepatic origin of notothenioid antifreeze reveals pancreatic synthesis as common mechanism in polar fish freezing avoidance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(27):10491–10496. doi:10.1073/pnas.0603796103
DeVries AL (1983) Antifreeze peptides and glycopeptides in cold-water fishes. Ann Rev Physiol 45:245–260
Eastman JT (2005) The nature of the diversity of Antarctic fishes. Polar Biol 28(2):93–107. doi:10.1007/s00300-004-0667-4
Evans CW, Gubala V, Nooney R, Williams DE, Brimble MA, Devries AL (2011) How do Antarctic notothenioid fishes cope with internal ice? A novel function for antifreeze glycoproteins. Antarct Sci 23(1):57–64. doi:10.1017/s0954102010000635
Fountain AG, Lyons WB, Burkins MB, Dana GL, Doran PT, Lewis KJ, McKnight DM, Moorhead DL, Parsons AN, Priscu JC, Wall DH, Wharton RA, Virginia RA (1999) Physical controls on the Taylor Valley ecosystem, Antarctica. Bioscience 49(12):961–971. doi:10.2307/1313730
Hunt BM, Hoefling K, Cheng CHC (2003) Annual warming episodes in seawater temperatures in McMurdo Sound in relationship to endogenous ice in notothenioid fish. Antarct Sci 15(3):333–338. doi:10.1017/s0954102003001342
Jin YM, DeVries AL (2006) Antifreeze glycoprotein levels in Antarctic notothenioid fishes inhabiting different thermal enviroments and the effect of warm acclimation. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 144(3):290–300. doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2006.03.006
Kennedy AD (1993) Water as a limiting factor in the Antarctic terrestrial environment – a biogeographical synthesis. Arct Alp Res 25(4):308–315. doi:10.2307/1551914
Lee RE, Elnitsky MA, Rinehart JP, Hayward SAL, Sandro LH, Denlinger DL (2006) Rapid cold-hardening increases the freezing tolerance of the Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica. J Exp Biol 209(3):399–406. doi:10.1242/jeb.02001
Peck LS, Convey P, Barnes DKA (2006) Environmental constraints on life histories in Antarctic ecosystems: tempos, timings and predictability. Biol Rev 81(1):75–109. doi:10.1017/s1464793105006871
Raymond JA (1998) Trimethylamine oxide and urea synthesis in rainbow smelt and some other northern fishes. Physiol Zool 71(5):515–523
Raymond JA, DeVries AL (1998) Elevated concentrations and synthetic pathways of trimethylamine oxide and urea in some teleost fishes of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Fish Physiol Biochem 18:387–398
Salt RW (1961) Principles of insect cold-hardiness. Annu Rev Entomol 6:55. doi:10.1146/annurev.en.06.010161.000415
Sinclair BJ, Sjursen H (2001) Cold tolerance of the Antarctic springtail Gomphiocephalus hodgsoni (Collembola, Hypogastruridae). Antarct Sci 13(3):271–279
Somme L (1986) Ecology of Cryptopygus sverdrupi (Insecta, Collembola) from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Polar Biol 6(3):179–184. doi:10.1007/bf00274881
Somme L (1996) Anhydrobiosis and cold tolerance in tardigrades. Eur J Entomol 93(3):349–357
Somme L, Block W (1982) Cold hardiness of Collembola at Signy Island, maritime Antarctic. Oikos 38(2):168–176. doi:10.2307/3544016
Somme L, Meier T (1995) Cold tolerance in Tardigrada from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Polar Biol 15(3):221–224
Storey KB, Storey JM (1988) Freeze tolerance in animals. Physiol Rev 68(1):27–84
Treonis AM, Wall DH, Virginia RA (2000) The use of anhydrobiosis by soil nematodes in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Funct Ecol 14(4):460–467. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2000.00442.x
Turner J, Bindschadler R, Convey P, di Prisco G, Fahrbach E, Gutt J, Hodgson D, Mayewski P, Summerhayes C (eds) (2009) Antarctic climate change and the environment (ACCE): a contribution to the international polar year 2007–2008. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Cambridge
Wharton DA (2003) The environmental physiology of Antarctic terrestrial nematodes: a review. J Comp Physiol B Biochem Syst Environ Physiol 173(8):621–628. doi:10.1007/s00360-003-0378-0
Wharton DA, Brown IM (1991) Cold-tolerance mechanisms of the Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi. J Exp Biol 155:629–641
Wharton DA, Ferns DJ (1995) Survival of intracellular freezing by the Antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi. J Exp Biol 198(6):1381–1387
Young SR, Block W (1980) Some factors affecting metabolic rate in an Antarctic mite. Oikos 34(2):178–185. doi:10.2307/3544180
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lenky, C., Davison, B. (2015). Surviving in the Cold. In: Liggett, D., Storey, B., Cook, Y., Meduna, V. (eds) Exploring the Last Continent. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18947-5_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18947-5_14
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18946-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18947-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)