Rapid seasonal thermal adaptation in Chironomus riparius

PF 390/9-1

Species with several generations per year can experience cycles of very different environments in each generation. For many ectotherm species, like insects, temperature is an important environmental factor. We hypothesise that annual fluctuations in temperature can drive cycles of natural selection, and this might be important for many species. We propose to address this issue with a natural experiment of seasonally repeated samples of natural populations, and use genome scans to identify genetic loci that might be responding to selection. We will use common garden experiments and experimental evolution to confirm that selection is acting on these regions. This empirical research will be supported and enhanced by integrated population genetic, demographic and environmental modelling to explore how cycles of selection act on the genome, and to predict how this will change as the climate warms. We will perform this study with the non-biting midge, Chironomus riparius. This species has short generation times and can be reared in the laboratory, so multigeneration fitness experiments can be carried out. Most importantly, its genome has been sequenced and a range of genomic techniques can be sued to analyse the species' genome.

Publications