Dataset for: No evidence for short-term evolutionary response to a warming environment in Drosophila

Adaptive evolution is key in mediating responses to global warming and may
sometimes be the only solution for species to survive. Such evolution will
expectedly lead to changes in the populations’ thermal reaction norm and
improve their ability to cope with stressful conditions. Conversely,
evolutionary constraints might limit the adaptive response. Here, we test
these expectations by performing a real-time evolution experiment in
historically differentiated Drosophila subobscura populations. We address
the phenotypic change after nine generations of evolution in a daily
fluctuating environment with average constant temperature, or in a warming
environment with increasing average and amplitude temperature across
generations. Our results showed that (1) evolution under a global warming
scenario did not lead to a noticeable change in the thermal response; (2)
historical background appears to be affecting responses under the warming
environment, particularly at higher temperatures; (3) thermal reaction
norms are trait-dependent: while lifelong exposure to low temperature
decreases fecundity and productivity but not viability, high temperature
causes negative transgenerational effects on productivity and viability,
even with high fecundity. These findings in such an emblematic organism
for thermal adaptation studies raise concerns about the short-term
efficiency of adaptive responses to the current rising temperatures.