201
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Hampe A, Jump AS. Climate Relicts: Past, Present, Future. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2011. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102710-145015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 298] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Arndt Hampe
- Department of Integrative Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana, 41092 Sevilla, Spain;
| | - Alistair S. Jump
- Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, United Kingdom;
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202
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Plants on the move: The role of seed dispersal and initial population establishment for climate-driven range expansions. ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2011.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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203
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MacColl ADC. The ecological causes of evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2011; 26:514-22. [PMID: 21763030 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 204] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2011] [Revised: 06/10/2011] [Accepted: 06/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew D C MacColl
- School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
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204
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Early R, Sax DF. Analysis of climate paths reveals potential limitations on species range shifts. Ecol Lett 2011; 14:1125-33. [PMID: 21955643 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01681.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Forecasts of species endangerment under climate change usually ignore the processes by which species ranges shift. By analysing the 'climate paths' that range shifts might follow, and two key range-shift processes--dispersal and population persistence--we show that short-term climatic and population characteristics have dramatic effects on range-shift forecasts. By employing this approach with 15 amphibian species in the western USA, we make unexpected predictions. First, inter-decadal variability in climate change can prevent range shifts by causing gaps in climate paths, even in the absence of geographic barriers. Second, the hitherto unappreciated trait of persistence during unfavourable climatic conditions is critical to species range shifts. Third, climatic fluctuations and low persistence could lead to endangerment even if the future potential range size is large. These considerations may render habitat corridors ineffectual for some species, and conservationists may need to consider managed relocation and augmentation of in situ populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regan Early
- Cátedra Rui Nabeiro-Biodiversidade, Universidade de Évora, Casa Cordovil 2ª Andar, Rua Dr Joaquim Henrique da Fonseca, 7000-890 Évora, Portugal.
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205
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Luskin MS, Potts MD. Microclimate and habitat heterogeneity through the oil palm lifecycle. Basic Appl Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2011.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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206
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207
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Chown SL, Sørensen JG, Terblanche JS. Water loss in insects: an environmental change perspective. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2011; 57:1070-84. [PMID: 21640726 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2011.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 192] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2011] [Revised: 05/06/2011] [Accepted: 05/06/2011] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
In the context of global environmental change much of the focus has been on changing temperatures. However, patterns of rainfall and water availability have also been changing and are expected to continue doing so. In consequence, understanding the responses of insects to water availability is important, especially because it has a pronounced influence on insect activity, distribution patterns, and species richness. Here we therefore provide a critical review of key questions that either are being or need to be addressed in this field. First, an overview of insect behavioural responses to changing humidity conditions and the mechanisms underlying sensing of humidity variation is provided. The primary sensors in insects belong to the temperature receptor protein superfamily of cation channels. Temperature-activated transient receptor potential ion channels, or thermoTRPs, respond to a diverse range of stimuli and may be a primary integrator of sensory information, such as environmental temperature and moisture. Next we touch briefly on the components of water loss, drawing attention to a new, universal model of the water costs of gas exchange and its implications for responses to a warming, and in places drying, world. We also provide an overview of new understanding of the role of the sub-elytral chamber for water conservation, and developments in understanding of the role of cuticular hydrocarbons in preventing water loss. Because of an increasing focus on the molecular basis of responses to dehydration stress we touch briefly on this area, drawing attention to the role of sugars, heat shock proteins, aquaporins, and LEA proteins. Next we consider phenotypic plasticity or acclimation responses in insect water balance after initial exposures to altered humidity, temperature or nutrition. Although beneficial acclimation has been demonstrated in several instances, this is not always the case. Laboratory studies show that responses to selection for enhanced ability to survive water stress do evolve and that genetic variation for traits underlying such responses does exist in many species. However, in others, especially tropical, typically narrowly distributed species, this appears not to be the case. Using the above information we then demonstrate that habitat alteration, climate change, biological invasions, pollution and overexploitation are likely to be having considerable effects on insect populations mediated through physiological responses (or the lack thereof) to water stress, and that these effects may often be non-intuitive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven L Chown
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.
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208
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Sparks AH, Forbes GA, Hijmans RJ, Garrett KA. A metamodeling framework for extending the application domain of process-based ecological models. Ecosphere 2011. [DOI: 10.1890/es11-00128.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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209
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de Bruyn M, Hoelzel AR, Carvalho GR, Hofreiter M. Faunal histories from Holocene ancient DNA. Trends Ecol Evol 2011; 26:405-13. [PMID: 21529992 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2011.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2011] [Revised: 03/24/2011] [Accepted: 03/28/2011] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies using ancient DNA have been instrumental in advancing understanding of the impact of Holocene climate change on biodiversity. Ancient DNA has been used to track demography, migration and diversity, and is providing new insights into the long-term dynamics of species and population distributions. The Holocene is key to understanding how the past has impacted on the present, as it bridges the gap between contemporary phylogeographic studies and those with inference on Pleistocene patterns, based on ancient DNA studies. Here, we examine the major patterns of Holocene faunal population dynamics and connectivity; highlighting the dynamic nature of species and population responses to Holocene climatic change, thereby providing an 'analogue' for understanding potential impacts of future change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark de Bruyn
- Molecular Ecology & Fisheries Genetics Laboratory, Environment Centre for Wales, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK, LL57 2UW.
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210
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Angert AL, Sheth SN, Paul JR. Incorporating population-level variation in thermal performance into predictions of geographic range shifts. Integr Comp Biol 2011; 51:733-50. [PMID: 21705795 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icr048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Determining how species' geographic ranges are governed by current climates and how they will respond to rapid climatic change poses a major biological challenge. Geographic ranges are often spatially fragmented and composed of genetically differentiated populations that are locally adapted to different thermal regimes. Tradeoffs between different aspects of thermal performance, such as between tolerance to high temperature and tolerance to low temperature or between maximal performance and breadth of performance, suggest that the performance of a given population will be a subset of that of the species. Therefore, species-level projections of distribution might overestimate the species' ability to persist at any given location. However, current approaches to modeling distributions often do not consider variation among populations. Here, we estimated genetically-based differences in thermal performance curves for growth among 12 populations of the scarlet monkeyflower, Mimulus cardinalis, a perennial herb of western North America. We inferred the maximum relative growth rate (RGR(max)), temperature optimum (T(opt)), and temperature breadth (T(breadth)) for each population. We used these data to test for tradeoffs in thermal performance, generate mechanistic population-level projections of distribution under current and future climates, and examine how variation in aspects of thermal performance influences forecasts of range shifts. Populations differed significantly in RGR(max) and had variable, but overlapping, estimates of T(opt) and T(breadth). T(opt) declined with latitude and increased with temperature of origin, consistent with tradeoffs between performances at low temperatures versus those at high temperatures. Further, T(breadth) was negatively related to RGR(max), as expected for a specialist-generalist tradeoff. Parameters of the thermal performance curve influenced properties of projected distributions. For both current and future climates, T(opt) was negatively related to latitudinal position, while T(breadth) was positively related to projected range size. The magnitude and direction of range shifts also varied with T(opt) and T(breadth), but sometimes in unexpected ways. For example, the fraction of habitat remaining suitable increased with T(opt) but decreased with T(breadth). Northern limits of all populations were projected to shift north, but the magnitude of shift decreased with T(opt) and increased with T(breadth). Median latitude was projected to shift north for populations with high T(breadth) and low T(opt), but south for populations with low T(breadth) and high T(opt). Distributions inferred by integrating population-level projections did not differ from a species-level projection that ignored variation among populations. However, the species-level approach masked the potential array of divergent responses by populations that might lead to genotypic sorting within the species' range. Thermal performance tradeoffs among populations within the species' range had important, but sometimes counterintuitive, effects on projected responses to climatic change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy L Angert
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
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211
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212
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Dawson TP, Jackson ST, House JI, Prentice IC, Mace GM. Beyond predictions: biodiversity conservation in a changing climate. Science 2011; 332:53-8. [PMID: 21454781 DOI: 10.1126/science.1200303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 675] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Climate change is predicted to become a major threat to biodiversity in the 21st century, but accurate predictions and effective solutions have proved difficult to formulate. Alarming predictions have come from a rather narrow methodological base, but a new, integrated science of climate-change biodiversity assessment is emerging, based on multiple sources and approaches. Drawing on evidence from paleoecological observations, recent phenological and microevolutionary responses, experiments, and computational models, we review the insights that different approaches bring to anticipating and managing the biodiversity consequences of climate change, including the extent of species' natural resilience. We introduce a framework that uses information from different sources to identify vulnerability and to support the design of conservation responses. Although much of the information reviewed is on species, our framework and conclusions are also applicable to ecosystems, habitats, ecological communities, and genetic diversity, whether terrestrial, marine, or fresh water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terence P Dawson
- School of the Environment, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, Scotland, UK
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213
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Rowland EL, Davison JE, Graumlich LJ. Approaches to evaluating climate change impacts on species: a guide to initiating the adaptation planning process. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2011; 47:322-37. [PMID: 21259061 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-010-9608-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2010] [Accepted: 12/23/2010] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Assessing the impact of climate change on species and associated management objectives is a critical initial step for engaging in the adaptation planning process. Multiple approaches are available. While all possess limitations to their application associated with the uncertainties inherent in the data and models that inform their results, conducting and incorporating impact assessments into the adaptation planning process at least provides some basis for making resource management decisions that are becoming inevitable in the face of rapidly changing climate. Here we provide a non-exhaustive review of long-standing (e.g., species distribution models) and newly developed (e.g., vulnerability indices) methods used to anticipate the response to climate change of individual species as a guide for managers grappling with how to begin the climate change adaptation process. We address the limitations (e.g., uncertainties in climate change projections) associated with these methods, and other considerations for matching appropriate assessment approaches with the management questions and goals. Thorough consideration of the objectives, scope, scale, time frame and available resources for a climate impact assessment allows for informed method selection. With many data sets and tools available on-line, the capacity to undertake and/or benefit from existing species impact assessments is accessible to those engaged in resource management. With some understanding of potential impacts, even if limited, adaptation planning begins to move toward the development of management strategies and targeted actions that may help to sustain functioning ecosystems and their associated services into the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika L Rowland
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
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214
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Nicotra AB, Atkin OK, Bonser SP, Davidson AM, Finnegan EJ, Mathesius U, Poot P, Purugganan MD, Richards CL, Valladares F, van Kleunen M. Plant phenotypic plasticity in a changing climate. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2010; 15:684-92. [PMID: 20970368 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2010.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 874] [Impact Index Per Article: 62.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2009] [Revised: 09/21/2010] [Accepted: 09/21/2010] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is altering the availability of resources and the conditions that are crucial to plant performance. One way plants will respond to these changes is through environmentally induced shifts in phenotype (phenotypic plasticity). Understanding plastic responses is crucial for predicting and managing the effects of climate change on native species as well as crop plants. Here, we provide a toolbox with definitions of key theoretical elements and a synthesis of the current understanding of the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying plasticity relevant to climate change. By bringing ecological, evolutionary, physiological and molecular perspectives together, we hope to provide clear directives for future research and stimulate cross-disciplinary dialogue on the relevance of phenotypic plasticity under climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- A B Nicotra
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
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215
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Willis K, Bailey R, Bhagwat S, Birks H. Biodiversity baselines, thresholds and resilience: testing predictions and assumptions using palaeoecological data. Trends Ecol Evol 2010; 25:583-91. [PMID: 20800315 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2010.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2010] [Revised: 07/22/2010] [Accepted: 07/22/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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216
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Peters DP. Accessible ecology: synthesis of the long, deep, and broad. Trends Ecol Evol 2010; 25:592-601. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2010.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2010] [Revised: 07/21/2010] [Accepted: 07/22/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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217
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La Sorte FA, Jetz W. Projected range contractions of montane biodiversity under global warming. Proc Biol Sci 2010; 277:3401-10. [PMID: 20534610 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Mountains, especially in the tropics, harbour a unique and large portion of the world's biodiversity. Their geographical isolation, limited range size and unique environmental adaptations make montane species potentially the most threatened under impeding climate change. Here, we provide a global baseline assessment of geographical range contractions and extinction risk of high-elevation specialists in a future warmer world. We consider three dispersal scenarios for simulated species and for the world's 1009 montane bird species. Under constrained vertical dispersal (VD), species with narrow vertical distributions are strongly impacted; at least a third of montane bird diversity is severely threatened. In a scenario of unconstrained VD, the location and structure of mountain systems emerge as a strong driver of extinction risk. Even unconstrained lateral movements offer little improvement to the fate of montane species in the Afrotropics, Australasia and Nearctic. Our results demonstrate the particular roles that the geography of species richness, the spatial structure of lateral and particularly vertical range extents and the specific geography of mountain systems have in determining the vulnerability of montane biodiversity to climate change. Our findings confirm the outstanding levels of biotic perturbation and extinction risk that mountain systems are likely to experience under global warming and highlight the need for additional knowledge on species' vertical distributions, dispersal and adaptive capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank A La Sorte
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8106, USA.
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218
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Ledig FT, Rehfeldt GE, Sáenz-Romero C, Flores-López C. Projections of suitable habitat for rare species under global warming scenarios. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2010; 97:970-987. [PMID: 21622467 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.0900329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF THE STUDY Modeling the contemporary and future climate niche for rare plants is a major hurdle in conservation, yet such projections are necessary to prevent extinctions that may result from climate change. • METHODS We used recently developed spline climatic models and modified Random Forests statistical procedures to predict suitable habitats of three rare, endangered spruces of Mexico and a spruce of the southwestern USA. We used three general circulation models and two sets of carbon emission scenarios (optimistic and pessimistic) for future climates. • KEY RESULTS Our procedures predicted present occurrence perfectly. For the decades 2030, 2060, and 2090, the ranges of all taxa progressively decreased, to the point of transient disappearance for one species in the decade 2060 but reappearance in 2090. Contrary to intuition, habitat did not develop to the north for any of the Mexican taxa; rather, climate niches for two taxa re-materialized several hundred kilometers southward in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The climate niche for a third Mexican taxon shrank drastically, and its two mitotypes responded differently, one of the first demonstrations of the importance of intraspecific genetic variation in climate niches. The climate niche of the U.S. species shrank northward and upward in elevation. • CONCLUSION The results are important for conservation of these species and are of general significance for conservation by assisted colonization. We conclude that our procedures for producing models and projecting the climate niches of Mexican spruces provide a way for handling other rare plants, which constitute the great bulk of the world's endangered and most vulnerable flora.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Thomas Ledig
- Institute of Forest Genetics, Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 2480 Carson Road, Placerville, California 95667 USA and Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California 95616 USA
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219
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Chevin LM, Lande R, Mace GM. Adaptation, plasticity, and extinction in a changing environment: towards a predictive theory. PLoS Biol 2010; 8:e1000357. [PMID: 20463950 PMCID: PMC2864732 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1070] [Impact Index Per Article: 76.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species are experiencing sustained environmental change mainly due to human activities. The unusual rate and extent of anthropogenic alterations of the environment may exceed the capacity of developmental, genetic, and demographic mechanisms that populations have evolved to deal with environmental change. To begin to understand the limits to population persistence, we present a simple evolutionary model for the critical rate of environmental change beyond which a population must decline and go extinct. We use this model to highlight the major determinants of extinction risk in a changing environment, and identify research needs for improved predictions based on projected changes in environmental variables. Two key parameters relating the environment to population biology have not yet received sufficient attention. Phenotypic plasticity, the direct influence of environment on the development of individual phenotypes, is increasingly considered an important component of phenotypic change in the wild and should be incorporated in models of population persistence. Environmental sensitivity of selection, the change in the optimum phenotype with the environment, still crucially needs empirical assessment. We use environmental tolerance curves and other examples of ecological and evolutionary responses to climate change to illustrate how these mechanistic approaches can be developed for predictive purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis-Miguel Chevin
- Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park, United Kingdom.
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220
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Colwell RK, Rangel TF. Hutchinson's duality: the once and future niche. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009; 106 Suppl 2:19651-8. [PMID: 19805163 PMCID: PMC2780946 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0901650106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 244] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The duality between "niche" and "biotope" proposed by G. Evelyn Hutchinson provides a powerful way to conceptualize and analyze biogeographical distributions in relation to spatial environmental patterns. Both Joseph Grinnell and Charles Elton had attributed niches to environments. Attributing niches, instead, to species, allowed Hutchinson's key innovation: the formal severing of physical place from environment that is expressed by the duality. In biogeography, the physical world (a spatial extension of what Hutchinson called the biotope) is conceived as a map, each point (or cell) of which is characterized by its geographical coordinates and the local values of n environmental attributes at a given time. Exactly the same n environmental attributes define the corresponding niche space, as niche axes, allowing reciprocal projections between the geographic distribution of a species, actual or potential, past or future, and its niche. In biogeographical terms, the realized niche has come to express not only the effects of species interactions (as Hutchinson intended), but also constraints of dispersal limitation and the lack of contemporary environments corresponding to parts of the fundamental niche. Hutchinson's duality has been used to classify and map environments; model potential species distributions under past, present, and future climates; study the distributions of invasive species; discover new species; and simulate increasingly more realistic worlds, leading to spatially explicit, stochastic models that encompass speciation, extinction, range expansion, and evolutionary adaptation to changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert K Colwell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
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221
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Wake DB, Hadly EA, Ackerly DD. Biogeography, changing climates, and niche evolution: Biogeography, changing climates, and niche evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009; 106 Suppl 2:19631-6. [PMID: 19918080 PMCID: PMC2780939 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911097106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- David B Wake
- Department of Integrative Biology, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, and Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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222
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Abstract
Ecological history plays many roles in ecological restoration, most notably as a tool to identify and characterize appropriate targets for restoration efforts. However, ecological history also reveals deep human imprints on many ecological systems and indicates that secular climate change has kept many targets moving at centennial to millennial time scales. Past and ongoing environmental changes ensure that many historical restoration targets will be unsustainable in the coming decades. Ecological restoration efforts should aim to conserve and restore historical ecosystems where viable, while simultaneously preparing to design or steer emerging novel ecosystems to ensure maintenance of ecological goods and services.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen T. Jackson
- Department of Botany and Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Richard J. Hobbs
- School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
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