DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f1vhhmgz7
title: Genetic background and thermal regime influence adaptation to novel environment in the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus

description: Climate change is associated with the increase in both mean and
 variability of thermal conditions. Therefore, the use of more realistic
 fluctuating thermal regimes is the most appropriate laboratory method for
 predicting population responses to thermal heterogeneity. However, the
 long- and short-term implications of evolving under such conditions are
 not well understood. Here, we examined differences in key life history
 traits among populations of seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) that
 evolved under either constant control conditions or in an environment with
 fluctuating daily temperatures. Specifically, individuals from two
 distinct genetic backgrounds were kept for 19 generations at one of two
 temperatures, a constant temperature (T=29°C) or a fluctuating daily cycle
 (Tmean=33°C, Tmax=40°C, and Tmin=26°C), and were assayed either in their
 evolved environment or in the other environment. We found that beetles
 that evolved in fluctuating environments but were then switched to
 constant 29°C conditions had far greater lifetime reproductive success
 compared to beetles that were kept in their evolved environments. This
 increase in reproductive success suggests that beetles raised in
 fluctuating environments may have evolved greater thermal breadth than
 control condition beetles. In addition, the degree of sexual dimorphism in
 body size and development varied as a function of genetic background,
 evolved thermal environment, and current temperature conditions. These
 results highlight not only the value of incorporating diel fluctuations
 into climate research but also suggest that populations that experience
 variability in temperature may be better able to respond to both short-
 and long-term changes in environmental conditions.
description: # Genetic background and thermal regime influence adaptation to novel
 environment in the seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.f1vhhmgz7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.f1vhhmgz7) The data contained in these two data files (bodymass.csv and lifehistory.csv) contain data on body mass, development time, lifetime reproductive success, and age-specific reproduction of two populations of *Callosobruchus maculatus* that evolved under fluctuating or constant thermal regimes and were subsequently assayed under fluctuating or thermal regimes. ## Description of the data and file structure bodymass.csv contains information on: * Pop: Population (either USA or LEIC). * Treatment: Note that C = Constant Regime Constant Environment; I = Fluctuating Regime Fluctuating Environment; CIA = Constant Regime Fluctuating Environment; ICA = Fluctuating Regime Constant Environment. The transformation for this occurs in the code. * Rep: Replicate number. * Sex: Sex of individual (M or F). * Day: Always 22. * VCMass: Chamber mass (g). * VCBeet.Mass: Chamber w/ beetle (g). * Beet.Mass: Beetle mass (g). lifehistory.csv contains information on: * Pop: Population (either USA or LEIC). * Treat: Treatment; note that C = Constant Regime Constant Environment; I = Fluctuating Regime Fluctuating Environment; CIA = Constant Regime Fluctuating Environment; ICA = Fluctuating Regime Constant Environment. The transformation for this occurs in the code. * Rep: Replicate. * Pair.Date: Date paired. * VC: Chamber ID. * DayEgg: Egg day. * DateEgg: Date of first egg lay. * DateMeasure: Date of measurement for offspring. * DT: Development Time. * Males/Female/Total: Number of offspring that are Male/Female/Combined Total. * Comments: Comments made during data collection. ## Code/Software Code used to run the analysis and produce the graphs is located on GitHub via https://github.com/EIvimeyCook/Fluctuating\_Beetles or via Zenodo with the DOI, https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10118422.