Does genetic rescue disrupt local adaptation? An experimental test using thermally adapted Tribolium castaneum lines

West, George, Pointer, Michael D., Nash, Will J., Lewis, Rebecca and Richardson, David S. (2025) Does genetic rescue disrupt local adaptation? An experimental test using thermally adapted Tribolium castaneum lines. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 292 (2058). ISSN 0962-8452

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Abstract

Anthropogenic drivers are restricting many species to small, genetically isolated populations. These are prone to inbreeding depression and are at an increased risk of extinction. Genetic rescue, the controlled introduction of genetic variation from another population, can alleviate inbreeding effects. A major conservation concern restricting the use of this technique is that such augmented gene flow may disrupt local adaptation crucial to a population’s persistence. Using populations of the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) experimentally adapted to reproduce at higher temperatures, we assess whether genetic rescue attempts disrupt thermal adaptation. Rescuers, drawn from populations adapted to either 30°C or 38°C, were introduced into populations adapted to 38°C, which had been inbred for two generations. We recorded population productivity for three generations post-rescue, in the adapted 38°C environment. Rescuers with and without local adaptation significantly increased the productivity of recipient inbred populations, but those sharing local adaptation to reproduction at 38°C provided greater increases in productivity. These results show that while rescue with non-locally adapted individuals may improve productivity, having the same adaptation in rescuing individuals and rescuee populations may be important in maximizing conservation outcomes.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data accessibility: All data and scripts are available at Dryad [10.5061/dryad.v9s4mw77z]. Supplementary material is available online [10.6084/m9.figshare.c.8105317]. Funding information: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, including an ARIES DTP PhD [NE/S007334/1] to G.W., and a Research Grant (Understanding heatwave damage through reproduction in insect systems) [NE/T007885/1] to Matt Gage. The authors also acknowledge support from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, Core Capability Grant BB/CCG2220/1 at the Earlham Institute (EI) and its constituent work packages (BBS/E/T/000PR9818 and BBS/E/T/000PR9819), and the Core Capability Grant BB/CCG1720/1 and the National Capability BBS/E/T/000PR9816 (NC1—Supporting EI’s ISPs and the UK Community with Genomics and Single Cell Analysis), BBS/E/T/000PR9811 (NC4—Enabling and Advancing Life Scientists in data-driven research through Advanced Genomics and Computational Training), and BBS/E/T/000PR9814 (NC 3—Development and deployment of versatile digital platforms for ‘omics-based data sharing and analysis). Also support from BBSRC Core Capability Grant BB/CCG1720/1 and the work delivered via the Scientific Computing group, and the physical HPC infrastructure and data centre delivered via the NBI Computing infrastructure for Science (CiS) group.
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Biosciences Teaching and Education Research Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Organisms and the Environment Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Related URLs:	https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/1...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	17 Nov 2025 16:30
Last Modified:	17 Nov 2025 20:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101045
DOI:	10.1098/rspb.2025.2036

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