Latent Genetic Effects of Past Selection on Blood Feeding: History Matters.

Conventional wisdom is that selection decreases genetic variation in populations, variation that should enable and be essential for population persistence in an ever-changing world. Basically, we find the opposite. Response to selection on biting in the pitcher-plant mosquito, , increases from 20 to 80% in 19 generations, but reverts back to the original 20% after seven generations of relaxed (not reversed) selection.