Climate contributes to the evolution of pesticide resistance

Abstract

Aim: The evolution of pesticide resistance through space and time is of great economic significance to modern agricultural production systems, and consequently, is often well documented. It can thus be used to dissect the evolutionary and ecological processes that underpin large-scale evolutionary responses. There are now nearly 600 documented cases of pesticide resistance in arthropod pests. Although the evolution of resistance is often attributed to the persistent use of chemicals for pest suppression, the rate of development of resistance should also depend on other factors, including climatic conditions that influence population size and generation time. Here, we test whether climatic va..