Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi

Insects are known for occurring in any biome due to their outstanding phenotypic plasticity, reproductive ability, and environmental resilience, but only a few species can survive Antarctica’s environmental conditions. The chironomid midge Belgica antarctica is the only insect species endemic to Antarctica, and it has evolved throughout Antarctica’s history and remains active until this day. Recent work has shown that B. antarctica has been isolated from its closest relatives for over 30 million years, which has allowed it to evolve specialized adaptations to thrive in Antarctica’s harsh terrestrial ecosystems. A closely related midge, Eretmoptera murphyi, which is endemic to South Georgia (a sub-Antarctic Island), has invaded Signy Island (a Maritime Antarctica island), and the invasion was facilitated in part by its surprising ability to cope with abiotic stress. Also, the extent of the threat that E. murphyi, as an invasive species, can pose to B. antarctica has been not directly addressed.

昆虫凭借卓越的表型可塑性（phenotypic plasticity）、繁殖能力与环境抗逆性，可在各类生物群系中广泛分布，但仅有极少数物种能够耐受南极洲的极端环境条件。南极摇蚊（Belgica antarctica）是南极洲唯一的特有昆虫物种，其演化历程贯穿南极洲地质历史，至今仍保持活性生存状态。近期研究显示，该物种与其近缘类群已分化隔离超过3000万年，这使其演化出特化的适应机制，得以在南极洲严苛的陆地生态系统中繁衍生息。近缘物种默菲氏摇蚊（Eretmoptera murphyi）原产于亚南极岛屿南乔治亚，现已入侵海洋性南极洲的西格尼岛，其入侵过程在一定程度上得益于它惊人的非生物胁迫耐受能力。此外，目前尚未有研究直接阐明默菲氏摇蚊这一入侵物种对南极摇蚊的威胁程度。