The Adaptive Significance of Phenotypic Plasticity and Reaction Norm Evolution in a Natural System

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The natural environment varies considerably from place to place, and in time. Some of this variation is natural (e.g., altitudinal and latitudinal gradients in temperature) and some of it is induced by human activities (e.g., urban temperature effects, global climatic changes). This study will investigate the ability of a model insect, the striped ground cricket Allonemobius socius, to plastically adjust its life cycle to meet the challenges of climatic variation in space and time. This study will also determine the genetic basis for this plasticity. Genetic variation will be investigated both among populations along altitudinal and latitudinal clines and within populations that are expected to vary in their ability to plastically respond to environmental change. This study will provide valuable information concerning adaptive evolutionary responses to past environmental changes. In addition, by characterizing the amount of genetic variation that exists within populations it will be possible to predict the rate of adaptive response to future changes in climate.