Data from: Evidence that implicit assumptions of ‘no evolution’ of disease vectors in changing environments can be violated on a rapid timescale

Projected impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease dynamics must consider many variables relevant to hosts, vectors and pathogens, including how altered environmental characteristics might affect the spatial distributions of vector species. However, many predictive models for vector distributions consider their habitat requirements to be fixed over relevant time-scales, when they may actually be capable of rapid evolutionary change and even adaptation. We examine the genetic signature of a spatial expansion by an invasive vector into locations with novel temperature conditions compared to its native range as a proxy for how existing vector populations may respond to temporally changing habitat. Specifically, we compare invasions into different climate ranges and characterize the importance of selection from the invaded habitat. We demonstrate that vector species can exhibit evolutionary responses (altered allelic frequencies) to a temperature gradient in as little as 7–10 years even in the presence of high gene flow, and further, that this response varies depending on the strength of selection. We interpret these findings in the context of climate change predictions for vector populations and emphasize the importance of incorporating vector evolution into models of future vector-borne disease dynamics.气候变化对虫媒传染病（vector-borne disease）动态的预估影响，必须纳入与宿主、媒介生物（vector）及病原体相关的诸多变量，其中涵盖环境特征改变对媒介生物物种空间分布的影响机制。然而，当前多数针对媒介生物分布的预测模型，均假设其生境需求在相关时间尺度内保持固定，但事实上媒介生物具备快速进化乃至适应环境的能力。 我们通过分析某入侵性媒介生物从原生分布区扩散至温度条件迥异的新区域时的空间扩张事件的遗传特征，以此作为研究现有媒介生物种群响应随时间变化的生境的替代指标。具体而言，我们对比了该媒介生物向不同气候区域的入侵事件，并解析了入侵生境施加的选择压力的重要性。 我们证实，即便存在高强度的基因流（gene flow），媒介生物物种仍可在短短7至10年内对温度梯度产生进化响应——表现为等位基因频率（allelic frequencies）发生改变；且此类响应会随选择强度的差异而有所不同。 我们结合媒介生物种群的气候变化预测模型解读本研究结果，并强调将媒介生物进化过程纳入未来虫媒传染病动态预测模型的重要性。