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Abstract As a widespread vector of disease with an expanding range, the mosquitoAedes albopictusSkuse (Diptera: Culicidae) is a high priority for research and management.A. albopictushas a complex life history with aquatic egg, larval and pupal stages, and a terrestrial adult stage. This requires targeted management strategies for each life stage, coordinated across time and space. Population genetics can aid inA. albopictuscontrol by evaluating patterns of genetic diversity and dispersal. However, how life stage impacts population genetic characteristics is unknown. We examined whether patterns ofA. albopictusgenetic diversity and differentiation changed with life stage at a spatial scale relevant to management efforts. We first conducted a literature review of field‐caughtA. albopictuspopulation genetic papers and identified 101 peer‐reviewed publications, none of which compared results between life stages. Our study uniquely examines population genomic patterns of egg and adultA. albopictusat five sites in Wake County, North Carolina, USA, using 8425 single nucleotide polymorphisms. We found that the level of genetic diversity and connectivity between sites varied between adults and eggs. This warrants further study and is critical for research aimed at informing local management. 

Synopsis Global environmental changes induced by human activities are forcing organisms to respond at an unprecedented pace. At present we have only a limited understanding of why some species possess the capacity to respond to these changes while others do not. We introduce the concept of multidimensional phenospace as an organizing construct to understanding organismal evolutionary responses to environmental change. We then describe five barriers that currently challenge our ability to understand these responses: (1) Understanding the parameters of environmental change and their fitness effects, (2) Mapping and integrating phenotypic and genotypic variation, (3) Understanding whether changes in phenospace are heritable, (4) Predicting consistency of genotype to phenotype patterns across space and time, and (5) Determining which traits should be prioritized to understand organismal response to environmental change. For each we suggest one or more solutions that would help us surmount the barrier and improve our ability to predict, and eventually manipulate, organismal capacity to respond to anthropogenic change. Additionally, we provide examples of target species that could be useful to examine interactions between phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution in changing phenospace.