Jasmine Vidrio

Master's Degree Candidate

Dr. Greg Ragland's Lab

Department of Integrative Biology

When: Wednesday, April 17th, 2024, 12:00pm

Where: Science Building, Room 4127

Ectothermic animals like insects play a crucial role in providing ecosystem services and make up a large portion of terrestrial biomass. Ectotherms are particularly sensitive to climate change as their performance is dependent on temperature. While climate change is typically associated with global warming and an increase in heat events, our understanding of variability suggests that extreme cold exposures may be equally significant. Ectotherms exhibit greater sensitivity to cold temperatures across their geographic ranges, with a narrower tolerance range for cold temperatures compared to high temperatures. To understand how ectotherms will respond to climate change, we need additional research to understand how they can overcome cold temperatures. In my thesis, I investigated the short-term acclimation response known as the Rapid Cold Hardening Response (RCH). As one of the fastest acclimatory responses seen in nature, it can provide ectotherms with the ability to mitigate damage caused by cold temperatures. Using Drosophila melanogaster, I investigated survival, fertility, and underlying physiological cell damage in response to a wide range of RCH temperatures. I found that while RCH can improve survival it comes with an associated cost to fertility. I also found that where RCH is ineffective at improving survival, there does not seem to be damage caused to the guts of the flies. Join me for my thesis defense to learn about RCH and the ecological significance of this response.