Amount Awarded: $15,000
A major question in ecological research is how to predict eco-evolutionary responses to future and ongoing environmental change. The answer to this question is complicated because the environment is varying at several timescales. Seasonal environments have predictable large amplitude cycles in conditions, but in addition there are more unpredictable differences between years both in the average conditions, variation within seasons, and timing of the onset of the seasons. Organisms use phenotypic plasticity to regulate energetics and seasonal timing to synchronize life stages with the environment, but few current theoretical models consider the integration of these different responses. In order to understand the effects climate change will have on organismal performance, we need to build a theoretical framework for organismal fitness optimization through plasticity in energetics and seasonal timing in stochastically varying seasonal environments. In this project we propose to build a theoretical model of plasticity in response to variable seasonality based on the well-studied model system for seasonal adaptation, the willow leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Our theoretical model will aid in general understanding of adaptations to seasonal environments, provide specific predictions for future testing and form the basis for continued collaborations between these research groups.