Experimental Evolution of Ecotherm Thermal Sensitivity

体温对生理的深刻影响对生物的生态和生存有着重要的影响。因此，全球气候变暖可能产生多方面的生物影响。然而，如果进化能够迅速改变昆虫等快速繁殖生物的热敏感性，气候变暖的影响可能会得到改善。这个项目将使用两种不同的方法来实验研究果蝇如何在实验室中对模拟的气候变化做出进化反应。第一种方法使用了一种高效的新技术，使我们能够培育出对高温或低温或两者兼而有之的苍蝇。这种方法包括监测已经在不同温度下进化多年的果蝇种群的生理差异。这项研究将监测生理对（非极端）温度持续变化的进化反应有多快。利用这两组果蝇，我们将确定生理对温度的敏感性可以进化得多快，以及任何重要的副作用（生活史，对其他研究的抵抗力）将直接影响昆虫种群如何应对全球气候变暖的预测模型。

The profound effect of body temperature on physiology can have a major impact on the ecology and survival of organisms. Consequently, global climate warming may have manifold biological repercussions. However, the effects of climate warming might be ameliorated if evolution can quickly alter the thermal sensitivity of fast-breeding organisms such as insects. This project will use two different approaches to study experimentally how fruit flies respond evolutionary to simulated climate change in the laboratory. The first approach uses an efficient new technique that enables us to breed flies that are very resistant to periodic exposure to heat or cold or both. This approach involves monitoring physiological divergence in stocks of flies that have already been evolving at different temperatures for several years. This study will monitor how quickly physiology responds evolutionarily to a sustained shift in (non-extreme) temperatures. Using both sets of flies, we will determine how quickly the sensitivity of physiology to temperature can evolve as well as any important side effects (life history, resistance to other studies will have direct implications for projection models of how insect populations will respond to global climate warming.