Counting marmots…
Environmental context plays a large role in the transmission and evolution of infectious diseases. As a result, climate change will cause large perturbations to host–pathogen systems. Although the potential impacts of climate change on disease dynamics have received considerable attention, less is known about the capacity for hosts and pathogens to adapt to changing environments. Established in 2018, the Flax Rust Project leverages the powerful system of Lewis flax ( Linum lewisii ), a supalpine wildflower abundant on the slopes near RMBL, and flax rust ( Melampsora lini ), its fungal pathogen. Populations occur across a steep elevational gradient, allowing the measurement of a wide variety of weather conditions that contribute to the spread of disease. Through long-term observation of disease transmission in study populations, we investigate how hosts balance adaptation to both their abiotic environment and their pathogens. This question is of critical importance for forecasting plant–pathogen epidemics in a warming world.