About

Cleverson de Sousa Lima
PhD Candidate
Department of Biology, University of Kentucky

Welcome!!

I consider myself an ecophysiologist. I am interested in how organisms respond to environmental stress, particularly in the context of extreme environments.

My research has been on how insects respond to abiotic stress through a comparative physiology lens (so essentially how untreated vs. treated critters differ under stressful conditions).

Some of the species I have worked with include: Atta sexdens rupropilosa, Belgica antarctica, Eretmoptera murphyi and Telmatogeton magellanicus

Some of the stressors I have worked on include: cold (specifically freezing), heat and osmotic stress (including dehydration and salinity).

Atta sexdens rupropilosa adult

Eretmoptera murphyi larva

Belgica antarctica larva

Telmatogeton magellanicus larva

During my PhD, I worked on three major projects:

1) Comparing E. murphyi and B. antarctica's thermal tolerance

2) Investigating what are the molecular mechanisms of recovery from freezing in B. antarctica

3) Exploring cross-tolerance in B. antarctica

I also have done a lot of field work, including at the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Chilean Patagonia and at various islands across the Antarctic Peninsula.

Long-term soil temperature datasets from Antarctic islands are rare since the access is so challenging. This prevents us from doing a lot of things, including examining thermal fluctuation regimes across large spatial scales in Antarctica. The photo on the right was taken at one of the highest peaks of Cape Tuxen (~65°16'S) after we retrieved all our data loggers that had been collecting data for a total of 3 years! Good job team!!

From left to right: JD Gantz, Jack Devlin, Vitor Pavanato, Diane Hutt, Cleverson Lima, Yuta Kawarasaki.

I have always been fascinating by how diverse environmental adaptations are. Natural selection was my favorite topic in college and probably still is (particularly in the context of extreme environments).

The photo on the left shows a B. antarctica adult male, which for one is wingless, live for only a few days and is unable to feed as its mouth parts are reduced and not functional. Compared to the larva, adults emerge only for reproducing and are pretty sensitive to changes in their environment. While this dynamic is not uncommon in insects, it still pretty shocking how the immature is so physiologically diverse but loose all their ability to survive to their environment once they complete development. It is also shocking how we have little to no idea of why this is a thing, which is a question I spend a lot (a lot) of time thinking about.

Besides environmental stress physiology, here are some other (often overlapping) topics that I am interested in within ecophys: extreme adaptations, animal dormancy and phenotypic plasticity.

If you are interested in my research, here is a list of some exciting works completed or in progress:

Lima, C., Colinet, H., E., Michel, A., Convey, P., Hayward, S., Gantz, J. D., Kawarasaki, Y., Smith, J., Teets, N.
Freeze tolerance is enhanced through distinct mechanisms via cross-protection activated by mild levels of thermal, ionic and osmotic stress. In prep.
Lima, C., Lecheta, M., Cecconi, S. Smith, J., Ferguson, J., Hotaling, S., Gantz, J.D., Michel, A., Convey, P., Hayward, S., Kawarasaki, Y., Teets, N. Mechanisms underlying recovery from freezing in the polyextremophile chironomid Belgica antarctica. In prep.
Lima, C., Aquilino, M., Kawarasaki, Y., Gantz, J. D., Pavanato, V., Devlin, J., Michel, A., Convey, P., Hayward, S., Teets, N. Physiological responses to multiple stressors in Antarctic terrestrial polyextremophile insects, the endemic midge Belgica antarctica and the invasive midge Eretmoptera murphyi. In prep.
Gantz, J. D., Philip, B., Kawarasaki, Y., Potts, L., Spacht, D., Benoit, J., Lima, C., Denlinger, D., Lee, R., Teets, N. Brief exposure to environmental stress enhances stress tolerance in the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica. In prep.
Devlin, J. J., Lima, C., Kawarasaki, Y., Gantz, J. D., Pavinato, V. A., Scaramelli, M., ... & Teets, N. M. (2025). Prevalence and consequences of microplastic ingestion in the world's southernmost insect, Belgica antarctica. Science of The Total Environment, 1004, 180800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180800
Lima, C., Helene, A. F., & Camacho, A. (2022). Leaf-cutting ants’ critical and voluntary thermal limits show complex responses to size, heating rates, hydration level, and humidity. Journal of Comparative Physiology B, 192(2), 235-245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-021-01413-6

Please browse my research compendium for more :)

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