Summary
The Antarctic oribatid mite Alaskozetes antarcticus was collected from several field habitats near Great Wall Station (62°13′S, 58°58′W) on King George Island during January and February 1990. The tritonymphs and adults were examined for their supercooling ability and survival at subzero temperatures in relation to inoculative freezing. The active tritonymphs and adults showed a wide range of supercooling points probably due to their polyphagous feeding activity and humid habitat conditions, with means ranging from -3.8° to -22.4°C. Detrivores were inferior to algivores in their supercooling ability. The former seemed to be transiently exposed to the hazard of freezing during the cool Antarctic summer. The resting (premoulting) tritonymphs exhibited the lowest mean supercooling point of -28.3°C. Inoculative freezing reduced the survival of A. antarcticus. Its effect became conspicuous at temperatures below -20°C and was serious in the deeply supercooled individuals, such as resting tritonymphs and algivorous adults. During the active season, spontaneous freezing probably started from the gut contents seemed to be more fatal than inoculative freezing for this freeze intolerant species.
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Shimada, K., Pan, C. & Ohyama, Y. Variation in summer cold-hardiness of the Antarctic oribatid mite Alaskozetes antarcticus from contrasting habitats on King George Island. Polar Biol 12, 701–706 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238870
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238870