Clock-talk: have we forgotten about geographic variation?

Abstract

Wyeomyia smithii, the pitcher-plant mosquito, has evolved from south to north and from low to high elevations in eastern North America. Along this seasonal gradient, critical photoperiod has increased while apparent involvement of the circadian clock has declined in concert with the evolutionary divergence of populations. Response to classical experiments used to test for a circadian basis of photoperiodism varies as much within and among populations of W. smithii as have been found in the majority of all other insects and mites. The micro-evolutionary processes revealed within and among populations of W. smithii, programmed by a complex underlying genetic architecture, illustrate a gateway to the macro-evolutionary divergence of biological timing among species and higher taxa in general.