The genome sequence of a metallic wood-boring beetle, Agrilus cyanescens (Ratzeburg, 1837).

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Agrilus cyanescens (metallic wood-boring beetle; Arthropoda; Insecta; Coleoptera; Buprestidae). The genome sequence is 292.3 megabases in span. Most of the assembly is scaffolded into 10 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X sex chromosome. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 15.91 kilobases in length.

Modelling dispersal of a temperate insect in a changing climate.

We construct a novel individual-based random-walk model to assess how predicted global climate change might affect the dispersal rates of a temperate insect. Using a novel approach we obtained accurate field measurements of daily movements for individuals over time to parameterize our model. Males were found to move significantly further on average than females. Significant variation in movement was evident among individuals; the most dispersive individuals moved up to five (females) and seven (males) times as far on average as the least dispersive individuals. Mean relative daily movement of both males and females were exponentially related to maximum daily temperature recorded within the grass sward. Variability, both within and among individuals, in relative daily movement was incorporated into the model using gamma probability distributions. Resultant dispersal functions for seasonal movement are predicted to be highly leptokurtic, which agrees well with observations from the field. Predictions of the model suggest that for populations at the polewards edge of the current range an increase of 3-5 degrees C in daily maximum temperature may increase the proportion of long-distance dispersers (those characterized as comprising the top 0.1% of furthest dispersing individuals under local conditions experienced during the 1963-1990 period) by up to 70%.

Ecotypic differentiation in the grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus: life history varies in relation to climate.

Life history variations among 27 populations of the grasshopper Chorthippus brunneus from around the British Isles were examined under laboratory conditions over three generations. Multiple-regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between grasshopper life histories and the climates of their ancestral sites. Grasshoppers from cooler sites were heavier at hatching. Grasshoppers from northern sites grew faster and developed through fewer instars, attaining adulthood earlier, at the expense of adult size. Depending on the measure of adult size used, adults were larger in warmer, sunnier or more southerly locations. Ecotypic differentiation is probably widespread among animals as it is among plants, though it is more rarely demonstrated by zoological studies, especially over the wide geographical scale covered here. Evidence from regression analysis supports the hypothesis that ecotypic differentiation in C. brunneus is an evolutionary response to climatic variation. The existence of intraspecific genetic diversity for climatic adaptations has implications for biodiversity conservation and the understanding of biotic responses to climatic change. It deserves wider recognition.