PoolSeq analysis of seasonal variation in a natural population of the non-biting midge Chironomus riparius. Seasonal variation

Species with several generations per year can experience cycles of very different environments in each generation. For many ectotherm species, like insects, temperature is an important environmental factor. We hypothesise that annual fluctuations in temperature can drive cycles of natural selection, and this might be important for many species. We propose to address this issue with a natural “experiment” of seasonally repeated samples of natural populations, and use genome scans to identify genetic loci that might be responding to selection.