Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

21 Sep, 06 PM - 28 Sep, 01 PM

The purpose of this visit is to understand the selective forces that snow cover exerts on overwintering insects. Climate change is dramatically altering environments across the planet, and the high Sierra is no exception. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains there is predicted to be warmer winters and decreased precipitation. This will impact organisms that overwinter in soil, by decreasing snow cover, which acts as an insulator from air temperatures. Decreasing winter snow paradoxically means decrease in winter temperatures. I plan to test if the willow beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis will have differential selection acting between conditions. I will do this by burring beetles at the Rock Creek Lodge in a plot with snow removed and one exposed to ambient snow fall. I will return in May to dig them up and assess survival. I will then do full genome sequencing on the survivors to see if there are loci that are associated with survival to each condition.

Visit #53244 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 35212 | Research

How do high altitude environments drive evolution of energy metabolism in insects?

graduate_student - University of California, Berkeley

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Kevin Roberts Sep 21 - 28, 2017 (8 days)

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Lodging (nightly) 1 Sep 22 - 28, 2017