The first set of findings from our long-term beetle populations are now out! In a massive effort, collating data across over 5 years, Vrinda and other lab members monitored flour beetle populations exposed to a new, poor habitat — corn flour — instead of the optimal ancestral wheat flour. While we expected some extinction, nearly all populations managed to avoid this fate, and underwent evolutionary rescue. We find that the founding beetles had an outsized impact on long-term population performance, and we identified specific founder traits that mattered most. Interestingly, the details of evolutionary rescue were not explained by founder traits, and also did not predict long-term performance. So, the causes and effects of the specific dynamics during evolutionary rescue remain an enigma. Read the paper to find more fascinating details and a nice summary article from the NCBS communications team, and enjoy this artwork by Vrinda. Meanwhile, the beetles continue to evolve in the lab, and we look forward to learning a lot more from them.!
AdaptationLab 