Projects per year
Abstract
The large-scale and fast environmental changes resulting from climate change put nature under pressure. In the long run, species will need to evolve to survive. As one of the few species that we know of to have evolved under climate change, I used the winter moth to gain important insights into the factors that determine a species’ adaptive potential. I investigated the winter moth's rapid adaptation to climate change using experiments, microscopy, gene expression analysis, and a unique long-term dataset of DNA and ecological data from the past 20 years. Based on my findings, I propose four drivers that underly the rate of adaptation in the winter moth: (1) many genes involved, (2) high genetic variation, (3) large population size, and (4) fitness consequences that have impacted population growth rates. I furthermore propose that genes involved in sensing and signalling environmental changes are important for climate change adaptation. These findings can help determine which insect populations are being threathened with extinction by climate change.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 6-Jun-2023 |
Place of Publication | [Groningen] |
Publisher | |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Evolution in action: Drivers of rapid adaptation to climate change in the winter moth'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Press/Media
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Wintervlinder past zich snel aan bij klimaatverandering
van Dis, N. E.
05/06/2023
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research › Popular
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AL: Adaptive Life
Etienne, R. (Coordinator), Kas, M. (Coordinator), Olff, H. (Coordinator), Weissing, F. (Coordinator) & Groothuis, T. (Coordinator)
01/01/2016 → 01/01/2026
Project: Research
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AL-II: Eco-evolutionary dynamics in the winter moth, Operophtera brumata: The mechanism of adaptation to changing ecological conditions due to climate change
Wertheim, B. (PI), Hut, R. (PI), Visser, M. (PI) & van Dis, N. E. (PhD student)
01/09/2018 → 01/12/2023
Project: Research