LAUSR

There is surprisingly little information on adaptive responses of pests and disease vectors to climatic stresses even though the short generation times and large population sizes associated with pests make rapid adaptation likely. Most evidence of adaptive differentiation has been obtained from geographic comparisons and these can directly or indirectly indicate rates of adaptation where historical data on invasions are available. There is very little information on adaptive shifts in pests detected through molecular comparisons even though the genomes of many pests are now available and can help to identify markers underlying adaptation. While the limited evidence available points to frequent rapid adaptation that can affect pest and disease vector control, constraints to adaptation are also evident and a predictive framework around the likelihood and limits of rapid adaptation is required.