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Ke C, Gong LX, Geng Y, Wang ZQ, Zhang WJ, Feng J, Jiang TL. Patterns and correlates of potential range shifts of bat species in China in the context of climate change. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024:e14310. [PMID: 38842221 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Climate change may diminish biodiversity; thus, it is urgent to predict how species' ranges may shift in the future by integrating multiple factors involving more taxa. Bats are particularly sensitive to climate change due to their high surface-to-volume ratio. However, few studies have considered geographic variables associated with roost availability and even fewer have linked the distributions of bats to their thermoregulation and energy regulation traits. We used species distribution models to predict the potential distributions of 12 bat species in China under current and future greenhouse gas emission scenarios (SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5) and examined factors that could affect species' range shifts, including climatic, geographic, habitat, and human activity variables and wing surface-to-mass ratio (S-MR). The results suggest that Ia io, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, and Rhinolophus rex should be given the highest priority for conservation in future climate conservation strategies. Most species were predicted to move northward, except for I. io and R. rex, which moved southward. Temperature seasonality, distance to forest, and distance to karst or cave were the main environmental factors affecting the potential distributions of bats. We found significant relationships between S-MR and geographic distribution, current potential distribution, and future potential distribution in the 2050s. Our work highlights the importance of analyzing range shifts of species with multifactorial approaches, especially for species traits related to thermoregulation and energy regulation, to provide targeted conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Ke
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Li-Xin Gong
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Yang Geng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Zhi-Qiang Wang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Wen-Jun Zhang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
| | - Ting-Lei Jiang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology of Education Ministry, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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2
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Storz JF, Quiroga-Carmona M, Liphardt S, Herrera ND, Bautista NM, Opazo JC, Rico-Cernohorska A, Salazar-Bravo J, Good JM, D'Elía G. Extreme High-Elevation Mammal Surveys Reveal Unexpectedly High Upper Range Limits of Andean Mice. Am Nat 2024; 203:726-735. [PMID: 38781524 DOI: 10.1086/729513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
AbstractIn the world's highest mountain ranges, uncertainty about the upper elevational range limits of alpine animals represents a critical knowledge gap regarding the environmental limits of life and presents a problem for detecting range shifts in response to climate change. Here we report results of mountaineering mammal surveys in the Central Andes, which led to the discovery of multiple species of mice living at extreme elevations that far surpass previously assumed range limits for mammals. We livetrapped small mammals from ecologically diverse sites spanning >6,700 m of vertical relief, from the desert coast of northern Chile to the summits of the highest volcanoes in the Andes. We used molecular sequence data and whole-genome sequence data to confirm the identities of species that represent new elevational records and to test hypotheses regarding species limits. These discoveries contribute to a new appreciation of the environmental limits of vertebrate life.
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3
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Dragonetti C, Daskalova G, Di Marco M. The exposure of the world's mountains to global change drivers. iScience 2024; 27:109734. [PMID: 38689645 PMCID: PMC11059124 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Global change affects mountain areas at different levels, with some mountains being more exposed to change in climate or environmental conditions and others acting as local refugia. We quantified the exposure of the world's mountains to three drivers of change, climate, land use, and human population density, using two spatial-temporal metrics (velocity and magnitude of change). We estimated the acceleration of change for these drivers by comparing past (1975-2005) vs. future (2020-2050) exposure, and we also compared exposure in lowlands vs. mountains. We found Africa's tropical mountains facing the highest future exposure to multiple drivers of change, thus requiring targeted adaptation and mitigation strategies to preserve biodiversity. European and North America's mountains, in contrast, experience more limited exposure to global change and could act as local refugia for biodiversity. This knowledge can be used to prioritize local-scale interventions and planning long-term monitoring to reduce the risks faced by mountain biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Dragonetti
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, viale dell'Università 32, I-00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Gergana Daskalova
- International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Schloßpl. 1, 2361 Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, viale dell'Università 32, I-00185 Rome, Italy
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Banda LB, Dejene SW, Mzumara TI, McCarthy C, Pangapanga‐Phiri I. An ensemble model predicts an upward range shift of the endemic and endangered Yellow-throated Apalis ( Apalis flavigularis) under future climate change in Malawi. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11283. [PMID: 38623518 PMCID: PMC11017464 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Climate change poses a significant threat to endemic and endangered montane bird species with limited elevation and temperature ranges. Understanding their responses to changes in climate is essential for informing conservation actions. This study focused on the montane dwelling Yellow-throated Apalis (Apalis flavigularis) in Malawi, aiming to identify key factors affecting its distribution and predicting its potential distribution under different climate change scenarios. Using an ensemble species distribution modeling approach, we found that the mean temperature of the driest quarter (Bio9), mean temperature of the wettest quarter (Bio8), and precipitation seasonality (Bio15) were the most important variables that influenced the distribution of this species. Across future climate scenarios, the species' geographic range declined where range losses varied from 57.74% (2050 RCP 6.0) to 82.88% (2070 RCP 6.0). We estimate its current range size to be 549 km2 which is lower than some previous estimates of its spatial distribution. Moreover, our projections indicate that under future climate scenarios, the species will shift to higher elevations with a large proportion of suitable areas located outside forests, posing challenges for adaptation. Our results suggest that the species may be under greater threat than previously thought; hence, urgent conservation actions are required. We recommend reinforcing the protection of areas predicted to remain suitable under future climate scenarios and the development of a species conservation action plan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lumbani Benedicto Banda
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources ManagementLilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)LilongweMalawi
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity ConservationHaramaya UniversityDire DawaEthiopia
| | - Sintayehu W. Dejene
- Africa Centre of Excellence for Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity ConservationHaramaya UniversityDire DawaEthiopia
- College of Agriculture and Environmental SciencesHaramaya UniversityDire DawaEthiopia
| | - Tiwonge I. Mzumara
- Department of Biological SciencesMalawi University of Science and Technology (MUST)LimbeMalawi
| | - Christopher McCarthy
- Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and SciencesJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMassachusettsUSA
| | - Innocent Pangapanga‐Phiri
- Department of Environment and Natural Resources ManagementLilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)LilongweMalawi
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Iverson ENK. Conservation Mitonuclear Replacement: Facilitated mitochondrial adaptation for a changing world. Evol Appl 2024; 17:e13642. [PMID: 38468713 PMCID: PMC10925831 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Most species will not be able to migrate fast enough to cope with climate change, nor evolve quickly enough with current levels of genetic variation. Exacerbating the problem are anthropogenic influences on adaptive potential, including the prevention of gene flow through habitat fragmentation and the erosion of genetic diversity in small, bottlenecked populations. Facilitated adaptation, or assisted evolution, offers a way to augment adaptive genetic variation via artificial selection, induced hybridization, or genetic engineering. One key source of genetic variation, particularly for climatic adaptation, are the core metabolic genes encoded by the mitochondrial genome. These genes influence environmental tolerance to heat, drought, and hypoxia, but must interact intimately and co-evolve with a suite of important nuclear genes. These coadapted mitonuclear genes form some of the important reproductive barriers between species. Mitochondrial genomes can and do introgress between species in an adaptive manner, and they may co-introgress with nuclear genes important for maintaining mitonuclear compatibility. Managers should consider the relevance of mitonuclear genetic variability in conservation decision-making, including as a tool for facilitating adaptation. I propose a novel technique dubbed Conservation Mitonuclear Replacement (CmNR), which entails replacing the core metabolic machinery of a threatened species-the mitochondrial genome and key nuclear loci-with those from a closely related species or a divergent population, which may be better-adapted to climatic changes or carry a lower genetic load. The most feasible route to CmNR is to combine CRISPR-based nuclear genetic editing with mitochondrial replacement and assisted reproductive technologies. This method preserves much of an organism's phenotype and could allow populations to persist in the wild when no other suitable conservation options exist. The technique could be particularly important on mountaintops, where rising temperatures threaten an alarming number of species with almost certain extinction in the next century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik N. K. Iverson
- Department of Integrative BiologyThe University of Texas at AustinAustinTexasUSA
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Rondinel-Mendoza KV, Lorite J, Marín-Rodulfo M, Cañadas EM. Tracking Phenological Changes over 183 Years in Endemic Species of a Mediterranean Mountain (Sierra Nevada, SE Spain) Using Herbarium Specimens. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:522. [PMID: 38498521 PMCID: PMC10892450 DOI: 10.3390/plants13040522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Phenological studies have a crucial role in the global change context. The Mediterranean basin constitutes a key study site since strong climate change impacts are expected, particularly in mountain areas such as Sierra Nevada, where we focus. Specifically, we delve into phenological changes in endemic vascular plants over time by analysing data at three scales: entire massif, altitudinal ranges, and particular species, seeking to contribute to stopping biodiversity loss. For this, we analysed 5262 samples of 2129 herbarium sheets from Sierra Nevada, dated from 1837 to 2019, including reproductive structure, complete collection date, and precise location. We found a generalized advancement in phenology at all scales, and particularly in flowering onset and flowering peak. Thus, plants flower on average 11 days earlier now than before the 1970s. Although similar trends have been confirmed for many territories and species, we address plants that have been studied little in the past regarding biotypes and distribution, and which are relevant for conservation. Thus, we analysed phenological changes in endemic plants, mostly threatened, from a crucial hotspot within the Mediterranean hotspot, which is particularly vulnerable to global warming. Our results highlight the urgency of phenological studies by species and of including ecological interactions and effects on their life cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy V. Rondinel-Mendoza
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.L.); (M.M.-R.); (E.M.C.)
| | - Juan Lorite
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.L.); (M.M.-R.); (E.M.C.)
- Interuniversity Institute for Earth System Research, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Macarena Marín-Rodulfo
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.L.); (M.M.-R.); (E.M.C.)
| | - Eva M. Cañadas
- Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.L.); (M.M.-R.); (E.M.C.)
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7
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Wu HY, Liu YH, He QX, Ye JW, Tian B. Differential distribution shifts in two subregions of East Asian subtropical evergreen broadleaved forests-a case of Magnoliaceae. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 14:1326207. [PMID: 38322424 PMCID: PMC10844446 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1326207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Aim East Asian subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests (EBLFs) are composed of western and eastern subregions with different topographical and environmental conditions. The distribution shifts over time of plants in the two subregions are predicted to be different, but the difference has seldom been investigated. Methods Potential distributions of 53 Magnoliaceae species (22 in the western and 31 in the eastern subregion) during the last glacial maximum (LGM), present, and the 2070s were predicted using MaxEnt based on 58 environmental variables. The changes in the distribution range size and centroid over time were analyzed. Species-level potential habitats were overlaid to uncover species diversity distribution, and the distributions over time were overlaid to discover long-term refugia. Results At present, the potential distributions are significantly larger than those shown by the occurrence points. During the LGM, 20/22 species in the western subregion experienced increases in range size through downwards and southward migrations, while decreases in range size in the eastern subregion (27/31 species) were accompanied by northward and eastward migrations. In the future, range size declines and northward shifts will both be found; northwestward shifts will exist in most (20/22 species) species in the western subregion, while both northwest- and northeastward shifts will occur in the eastern subregion. The diversity hotspots experienced a slight southward shift in the past and upwards to the mountain region in the future in the western subregion; in the eastern subregion, shrinks occurred in eastern China in the past and shrinks were shown in all regions in the future. Long-term refugia-preserving diversity was found in the mountains across the entire EBLFs region. Main conclusions Significant differences in distribution shifts from past to present and similar distribution shifts from present to future are revealed in the two subregions. Species diversity in both subregions experienced no significant shifts from past to future, and Magnoliaceae plants could be preserved in mountainous regions throughout the EBLFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai-Yang Wu
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
| | - Yue-Han Liu
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
| | - Qiu-Xiang He
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
| | - Jun-Wei Ye
- Key Laboratory for Forest Resources Conservation and Utilization in the Southwest Mountains of China, Ministry of Education, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
| | - Bin Tian
- National Plateau Wetlands Research Center, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plateau Wetland Conservation Restoration and Ecological Services, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China
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8
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Hoste A, Capblancq T, Broquet T, Denoyelle L, Perrier C, Buzan E, Šprem N, Corlatti L, Crestanello B, Hauffe HC, Pellissier L, Yannic G. Projection of current and future distribution of adaptive genetic units in an alpine ungulate. Heredity (Edinb) 2024; 132:54-66. [PMID: 38082151 PMCID: PMC10798982 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-023-00661-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Climate projections predict major changes in alpine environments by the end of the 21st century. To avoid climate-induced maladaptation and extinction, many animal populations will either need to move to more suitable habitats or adapt in situ to novel conditions. Since populations of a species exhibit genetic variation related to local adaptation, it is important to incorporate this variation into predictive models to help assess the ability of the species to survive climate change. Here, we evaluate how the adaptive genetic variation of a mountain ungulate-the Northern chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra)-could be impacted by future global warming. Based on genotype-environment association analyses of 429 chamois using a ddRAD sequencing approach, we identified genetic variation associated with climatic gradients across the European Alps. We then delineated adaptive genetic units and projected the optimal distribution of these adaptive groups in the future. Our results suggest the presence of local adaptation to climate in Northern chamois with similar genetic adaptive responses in geographically distant but climatically similar populations. Furthermore, our results predict that future climatic changes will modify the Northern chamois adaptive landscape considerably, with various degrees of maladaptation risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Hoste
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Thibaut Capblancq
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000, Grenoble, France
- Department of Plant Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA
| | - Thomas Broquet
- CNRS, Sorbonne Université, UMR 7144, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Place Georges Teissier, 29680, Roscoff, France
| | - Laure Denoyelle
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Charles Perrier
- UMR CBGP, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, Institut Agro, Université Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Elena Buzan
- Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, 6000, Koper, Slovenia
- Faculty of Environmental Protection, Trg mladosti 7, 3320, Velenje, Slovenia
| | - Nikica Šprem
- Department of Fisheries, Apiculture, Wildlife Management and Special Zoology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska 25, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Luca Corlatti
- Stelvio National Park - ERSAF Lombardia, Via De Simoni 42, 23032, Bormio, Italy
- Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße 4, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Barbara Crestanello
- Conservation Genomics Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione E. Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38098 S, Michele all'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Heidi Christine Hauffe
- Conservation Genomics Unit, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione E. Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38098 S, Michele all'Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Loïc Pellissier
- Landscape Ecology, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zrich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - Glenn Yannic
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, 38000, Grenoble, France.
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Reeve AH, Kennedy JD, Pujolar JM, Petersen B, Blom MPK, Alström P, Haryoko T, Ericson PGP, Irestedt M, Nylander JAA, Jønsson KA. The formation of the Indo-Pacific montane avifauna. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8215. [PMID: 38081809 PMCID: PMC10713610 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43964-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The processes generating the earth's montane biodiversity remain a matter of debate. Two contrasting hypotheses have been advanced to explain how montane populations form: via direct colonization from other mountains, or, alternatively, via upslope range shifts from adjacent lowland areas. We seek to reconcile these apparently conflicting hypotheses by asking whether a species' ancestral geographic origin determines its mode of mountain colonization. Island-dwelling passerine birds at the faunal crossroads between Eurasia and Australo-Papua provide an ideal study system. We recover the phylogenetic relationships of the region's montane species and reconstruct their ancestral geographic ranges, elevational ranges, and migratory behavior. We also perform genomic population studies of three super-dispersive montane species/clades with broad island distributions. Eurasian-origin species populated archipelagos via direct colonization between mountains. This mode of colonization appears related to ancestral adaptations to cold and seasonal climates, specifically short-distance migration. Australo-Papuan-origin mountain populations, by contrast, evolved from lowland ancestors, and highland distribution mostly precludes their further colonization of island mountains. Our study explains much of the distributional variation within a complex biological system, and provides a synthesis of two seemingly discordant hypotheses for montane community formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Hart Reeve
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark.
| | - Jonathan David Kennedy
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
| | - José Martín Pujolar
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
- Centre for Gelatinous Plankton Ecology and Evolution, DTU Aqua, Kemitorvet, Building 202, DK-2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Bent Petersen
- Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, DK-1353, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Centre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), Faculty of Applied Sciences, AIMST University, Kedah, Malaysia
| | - Mozes P K Blom
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Per Alström
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Tri Haryoko
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biosystematics and Evolution, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Cibinong, 16911, Indonesia
| | - Per G P Ericson
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Martin Irestedt
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Johan A A Nylander
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Knud Andreas Jønsson
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
- Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics, Swedish Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05, Stockholm, Sweden
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10
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Morineau C, Boulanger Y, Gachon P, Plante S, St-Laurent MH. Climate change alone cannot explain boreal caribou range recession in Quebec since 1850. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:6661-6678. [PMID: 37750343 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
The contraction of species range is one of the most significant symptoms of biodiversity loss worldwide. While anthropogenic activities and habitat alteration are major threats for several species, climate change should also be considered. For species at risk, differentiating the effects of human disturbances and climate change on past and current range transformations is an important step towards improved conservation strategies. We paired historical range maps with global atmospheric reanalyses from different sources to assess the potential effects of recent climate change on the observed northward contraction of the range of boreal populations of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Quebec (Canada) since 1850. We quantified these effects by highlighting the discrepancies between different southern limits of the caribou's range (used as references) observed in the past and reconstitutions obtained through the hindcasting of the climate conditions within which caribou are currently found. Hindcasted southern limits moved ~105 km north over time under all reanalysis datasets, a trend drastically different from the ~620 km reported for observed southern limits since 1850. The differences in latitudinal shift through time between the observed and hindcasted southern limits of distribution suggest that caribou range recession should have been only 17% of what has been observed since 1850 if recent climate change had been the only disturbance driver. This relatively limited impact of climate reinforces the scientific consensus stating that caribou range recession in Quebec is mainly caused by anthropogenic drivers (i.e. logging, development of the road network, agriculture, urbanization) that have modified the structure and composition of the forest over the past 160 years, paving the way for habitat-mediated apparent competition and overharvesting. Our results also call for a reconsideration of past ranges in models aiming at projecting future distributions, especially for endangered species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloé Morineau
- Centre for Forest Research, Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
| | - Yan Boulanger
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Philippe Gachon
- Département de Géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre ESCER (Étude et Simulation du Climat à l'Échelle Régionale), Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sabrina Plante
- Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les Changements Climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs, Gouvernement du Québec, Quebec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Martin-Hugues St-Laurent
- Centre for Forest Research & Centre for Northern Studies, Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
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11
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Storz JF, Quiroga-Carmona M, Liphardt S, Bautista NM, Opazo JC, Rico Cernohorska A, Salazar-Bravo J, Good JM, D'Elía G. Extreme high-elevation mammal surveys reveal unexpectedly high upper range limits of Andean mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.22.554215. [PMID: 37662254 PMCID: PMC10473662 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.22.554215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
In the world's highest mountain ranges, uncertainty about the upper elevational range limits of alpine animals represents a critical knowledge gap regarding the environmental limits of life and presents a problem for detecting range shifts in response to climate change. Here we report results of mountaineering mammal surveys in the Central Andes, which led to the discovery of multiple species of mice living at extreme elevations that far surpass previously assumed range limits for mammals. We live-trapped small mammals from ecologically diverse sites spanning >6700 m of vertical relief, from the desert coast of northern Chile to the summits of the highest volcanoes in the Andes. We used molecular sequence data and whole-genome sequence data to confirm the identities of species that represent new elevational records and to test hypotheses regarding species limits. These discoveries contribute to a new appreciation of the environmental limits of vertebrate life.
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Dragonetti C, Mendez Angarita VY, Di Marco M. Scenarios of change in the realized climatic niche of mountain carnivores and ungulates. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e14035. [PMID: 36424863 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Mountains are among the natural systems most affected by climate change, and mountain mammals are considered particularly imperiled, given their high degree of specialization to narrow tolerance bands of environmental conditions. Climate change mitigation policies, such as the Paris Agreement, are essential to stem climate change impacts on natural systems. But how significant is the Paris Agreement to the survival of mountain mammals? We investigated how alternative emission scenarios may determine change in the realized climatic niche of mountain carnivores and ungulates in 2050. We based our predictions of future change in species niches based on how species have responded to past environmental changes, focusing on the probabilities of niche shrink and niche stability. We found that achieving the Paris Agreement's commitments would substantially reduce climate instability for mountain species. Specifically, limiting global warming to below 1.5°C would reduce the probability of niche shrinkage by 4% compared with a high-emission scenario. Globally, carnivores showed greater niche shrinkage than ungulates, whereas ungulates were more likely to shift their niches (i.e., face a level of climate change that allows adaptation). Twenty-three species threatened by climate change according to the IUCN Red List had greater niche contraction than other species we analyzed (3% higher on average). We therefore argue that climate mitigation policies must be coupled with rapid species-specific conservation intervention and sustainable land-use policies to avoid high risk of loss of already vulnerable species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Dragonetti
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Valeria Y Mendez Angarita
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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13
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de la Fuente A, Navarro A, Williams SE. The climatic drivers of long-term population changes in rainforest montane birds. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:2132-2140. [PMID: 36654193 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Climate-driven biodiversity erosion is escalating at an alarming rate. The pressure imposed by climate change is exceptionally high in tropical ecosystems, where species adapted to narrow environmental ranges exhibit strong physiological constraints. Despite the observed detrimental effect of climate change on ecosystems at a global scale, our understanding of the extent to which multiple climatic drivers affect population dynamics is limited. Here, we disentangle the impact of different climatic stressors on 47 rainforest birds inhabiting the mountains of the Australian Wet Tropics using hierarchical population models. We estimate the effect of spatiotemporal changes in temperature, precipitation, heatwaves, droughts and cyclones on the population dynamics of rainforest birds between 2000 and 2016. We find a strong effect of warming and changes in rainfall patterns across the elevational-segregated bird communities, with lowland populations benefiting from increasing temperature and precipitation, while upland species show an inverse strong negative response to the same drivers. Additionally, we find a negative effect of heatwaves on lowland populations, a pattern associated with the observed distribution of these extreme events across elevations. In contrast, cyclones and droughts have a marginal effect on spatiotemporal changes in rainforest bird communities, suggesting a species-specific response unrelated to the elevational gradient. This study demonstrated the importance of unravelling the drivers of climate change impacts on population changes, providing significant insight into the mechanisms accelerating climate-induced biodiversity degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro de la Fuente
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Alejandro Navarro
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Stephen E Williams
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
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14
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Rossi AJ, Klinger RC, Hellwig EC, Van Vuren DH. Niches of three sympatric montane ground‐dwelling squirrels: Relative importance of climate, topography, and landcover. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9949. [PMID: 37013103 PMCID: PMC10065979 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Species with different ecological niches will likely exhibit distinct responses to a changing environment. Differences in the magnitude of niche specialization may also indicate which species may be more vulnerable to environmental change, as many life‐history characteristics are known to affect climate change vulnerability. We characterized the niche space of three sympatric high‐elevation ground‐dwelling squirrels, yellow‐bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventer), Belding's ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi), and golden‐mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), in the alpine and upper subalpine regions of the Sierra Nevada in California. We used 5879 observations of individual squirrels, collected from 4 years (2009–2012) of transect survey data, to quantify which ecogeographical variable types (climate, topography, or landcover) were most important in defining the niche of each species. We conducted Ecological Niche Factor Analysis to quantify the niche and generate indices of “marginality” (magnitude of selection) and “specialization” (narrowness of niche space). All three species demonstrated differential use of niche space when compared to the available niche space. Moreover, the relative importance of the variables shaping the niche differed among these species. For example, the presence of meadows was important in defining the niche for U. beldingi and M. flaviventer, but the presence of conifers was important to C. lateralis. Precipitation was important in defining the niche for all three species, positively so for U. beldingi, and negatively for the other two species. The niche breadth of these three species was also positively associated with geographic range size. Mammals in high‐elevation mountain systems often are perceived as vulnerable to climate shifts, but our results underscore the importance of also including non‐climate‐based factors in defining the niche. The overall magnitude of niche selection for all three species was driven by a combination of topographic, climatic, and landcover factors; thus, efforts to forecast areas where these species can persist in the future need to evaluate from more than just a climatic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviva J. Rossi
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyUniversity of California, DavisOne Shields AvenueDavisCalifornia95616USA
| | - Robert C. Klinger
- Western Ecological Research CenterU.S. Geological Survey2761 Glenbrook WayBishopCalifornia93514USA
| | - Elise C. Hellwig
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyUniversity of California, DavisOne Shields AvenueDavisCalifornia95616USA
| | - Dirk H. Van Vuren
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyUniversity of California, DavisOne Shields AvenueDavisCalifornia95616USA
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15
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Zhang H, Zhan C, Xia J, Yeh PJF. Responses of vegetation to changes in terrestrial water storage and temperature in global mountainous regions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 851:158416. [PMID: 36049697 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
As an important component of terrestrial ecosystem, vegetation acts as a sensitive recorder of changes in hydroclimatic conditions. Long-term time series of remote sensing-based vegetation indices and their influencing environmental driving factors, such as human activities and climate change, have been widely discussed in the literature. Globally, however, little is known about the hydroclimatic processes controlling vegetation changes in mountainous regions, which are conceived as more sensitive to climate change than other landscapes. The present study aims to quantify the respective roles of two dominant hydroclimatic factors, namely, TWS (i.e., terrestrial water storage) and Tair (i.e., temperature), in the spatio-temporal changes of mountainous vegetation over global six contrasting climate zones (i.e., tropical, arid, subtropical, temperate, sub-frigid, and frigid zones) during the period 2003-2016 based on EVI (i.e., enhanced vegetation index), TWS, Tair, and elevation data. Results indicate that the mean EVI shows a larger increasing trend (+0.85 %/decade, p-value < 0.01) and a larger decreasing trend in TWS (-85 mm/decade, p-value < 0.01) across the global mountainous regions than other global regions combined together (+0.61 %/decade, p-value < 0.01), particularly over high latitudes. With the increasing latitudes, the positive effect of temperature more dominates mountainous vegetation growth than moisture, as evidenced by the increasing trends of EVI with warming. However, in certain low-latitude mountainous regions (e.g., East Africa, South Asia, the western Tibetan Plateau, Brazil Plateau, and the southern Rocky Mountains), mountainous vegetation may face degradation due to water deficit induced by increased snowmelt, especially among the high-elevation ecosystems. The water availability controls vegetation activities more than Tair in the mid- and low-latitude regions, including the tropical, arid, and subtropical climate zones. These findings indicate that the potential shifts in mountainous vegetation may occur under the notable interactions with hydroclimatic factors, as the high-latitudes are experiencing ongoing warming and the mid- and low-latitudes are getting dryer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoyue Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Yucheng Comprehensive Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yucheng 251200, China
| | - Chesheng Zhan
- Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Yucheng Comprehensive Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yucheng 251200, China.
| | - Jun Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Water Resources & Hydropower Engineering Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Pat J-F Yeh
- Discipline of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Malaysia Campus, Malaysia
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16
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de la Fuente A, Williams SE. Climate change threatens the future of rain forest ringtail possums by 2050. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro de la Fuente
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Stephen E. Williams
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
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17
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GABB: A global dataset of alpine breeding birds and their ecological traits. Sci Data 2022; 9:627. [PMID: 36243729 PMCID: PMC9569320 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01723-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Alpine ecosystems represent varied climates and vegetation structures globally, with the potential to support rich and functionally diverse avian communities. High mountain habitats and species are under significant threat from climate change and other anthropogenic factors. Yet, no global database of alpine birds exists, with most mountain systems lacking basic information on species breeding in alpine habitats, their status and trends, or potential cryptic diversity (i.e., sub-species distributions). To address these critical knowledge gaps, we combined published literature, regional monitoring schemes, and expert knowledge from often inaccessible, data-deficient mountain ranges to develop a global list of alpine breeding bird species with their associated distributions and select ecological traits. This dataset compiles alpine breeding records for 1,310 birds, representing 12.0% of extant species and covering all major mountain regions across each continent, excluding Antarctica. The Global Alpine Breeding Bird dataset (GABB) is an essential resource for research on the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping alpine communities, as well as documenting the value of these high elevation, climate-sensitive habitats for conserving biodiversity.
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18
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Lopera D, Guo KC, Putman BJ, Swierk L. Keeping it cool to take the heat: tropical lizards have greater thermal tolerance in less disturbed habitats. Oecologia 2022; 199:819-829. [PMID: 35948691 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05235-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Global climate change has profound effects on species, especially those in habitats already altered by humans. Tropical ectotherms are predicted to be at high risk from global temperature increases, particularly those adapted to cooler temperatures at higher altitudes. We investigated how one such species, the water anole (Anolis aquaticus), is affected by temperature stress similar to that of a warming climate across a gradient of human-altered habitats at high elevation sites. We conducted a field survey on thermal traits and measured lizard critical thermal maxima across the sites. From the field survey, we found that (1) lizards from the least disturbed site and (2) operative temperature models of lizards placed in the least disturbed site had lower temperatures than those from sites with histories of human disturbance. Individuals from the least disturbed site also demonstrated greater tolerance to high temperatures than those from the more disturbed sites, in both their critical thermal maxima and the time spent at high temperatures prior to reaching critical thermal maxima. Our results demonstrate within-species variability in responses to high temperatures, depending on habitat type, and provide insight into how tropical reptiles may fare in a warming world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Lopera
- Global Environmental Science, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA
| | - Kimberly Chen Guo
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.,Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Breanna J Putman
- Department of Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, CA, 92407, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.,Department of Herpetology and Urban Nature Research Center, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA
| | - Lindsey Swierk
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA. .,Department of Biological Sciences, Environmental Studies Program, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, NY, 13902, USA. .,Amazon Conservatory for Tropical Studies, Iquitos, Loreto, 16001, Perú.
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19
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Martin RW, Collar NJ, Fauzen P, Bashari H, Widyanto A, Tasirin JS, Marsden SJ. On the edge: habitat restoration priorities for three Critically Endangered bird species on Sangihe, Indonesia. Restor Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.13770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert W. Martin
- BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK
| | - Nigel J. Collar
- BirdLife International, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street Cambridge CB2 3QZ UK
| | - Panji Fauzen
- Burung Indonesia, Jl. Dadali No. 32 Bogor 16161 Indonesia
| | - Hanom Bashari
- Forest Program III Sulawesi, Jl. M. Yamin No. 53, Palu Central Sulawesi 94111 Indonesia
| | - Adi Widyanto
- Burung Indonesia, Jl. Dadali No. 32 Bogor 16161 Indonesia
| | | | - Stuart J. Marsden
- School of Science and Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street Manchester M1 5GD UK
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20
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Isaak DJ, Young MK, Horan DL, Nagel D, Schwartz MK, McKelvey KS. Do metapopulations and management matter for relict headwater bull trout populations in a warming climate? ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2594. [PMID: 35343015 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Mountain headwater streams have emerged as important climate refuges for native cold-water species due to their slow climate velocities and extreme physical conditions that inhibit non-native invasions. Species persisting in refuges often do so as fragmented, relict populations from broader historical distributions that are subject to ongoing habitat reductions and increasing isolation as climate change progresses. Key for conservation planning is determining where remaining populations will persist and how habitat restoration strategies can improve biological resilience to enhance the long-term prospects for species of concern. Studying bull trout, a headwater species in the northwestern USA, we developed habitat occupancy models using a data set of population occurrence in 991 natal habitat patches with a suite of novel geospatial covariates derived from high-resolution hydroclimatic scenarios and other sources representing watershed and instream habitat conditions, patch geometry, disturbance, and biological interactions. The best model correctly predicted bull trout occupancy status in 82.6% of the patches and included effects for: patch size estimated as habitat volume, extent of within-patch reaches <9°C mean August temperature, distance to nearest occupied patch, road density, invasive brook trout prevalence, patch slope, and frequency of high winter flows. The model was used to assess 16 scenarios of bull trout occurrence within the study streams that represented a range of restoration strategies under three climatic conditions (baseline, moderate change, and extreme change). Results suggested that regional improvements in bull trout status were difficult to achieve in realistic restoration strategies due to the pervasive nature of climate change and the limited extent of restoration actions given their high costs. However, occurrence probabilities in a subset of patches were highly responsive to restoration actions, suggesting that targeted investments to improve the resilience of some populations may be contextually beneficial. A possible strategy, therefore, is focusing effort on responsive populations near more robust population strongholds, thereby contributing to local enclaves where dispersal among populations further enhances resilience. Equally important, strongholds constituted a small numerical percentage of patches (5%-21%), yet encompassed the large majority of occupied habitat by volume (72%-89%) and their protection could have significant conservation benefits for bull trout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Isaak
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Michael K Young
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Dona L Horan
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - David Nagel
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Boise, Idaho, USA
| | - Michael K Schwartz
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Kevin S McKelvey
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA
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21
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Girish KS, Srinivasan U. Community science data provide evidence for upward elevational range shifts by Eastern Himalayan birds. Biotropica 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Umesh Srinivasan
- Centre for Ecological Sciences Indian Institute of Science Bangalore India
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22
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Row JR, Holloran MJ, Fedy BC. Quantifying the temporal stability in seasonal habitat for sage‐grouse using regression and ensemble tree approaches. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey R. Row
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability University of Waterloo Waterloo Ontario Canada
| | | | - Bradley C. Fedy
- School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability University of Waterloo Waterloo Ontario Canada
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23
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de Gabriel Hernando M, Roa I, Fernández‐Gil J, Juan J, Fuertes B, Reguera B, Revilla E. Trends in weather conditions favor generalist over specialist species in rear‐edge alpine bird communities. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel de Gabriel Hernando
- Grupo Ibérico de Anillamiento León Spain
- Department of Biodiversity and Environmental Management, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences Universidad de León León Spain
- Department of Conservation Biology Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC Seville Spain
| | - Isabel Roa
- Grupo Ibérico de Anillamiento León Spain
| | | | - Jara Juan
- Grupo Ibérico de Anillamiento León Spain
| | | | | | - Eloy Revilla
- Department of Conservation Biology Estación Biológica de Doñana CSIC Seville Spain
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24
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Zou F, Tu C, Liu D, Yang C, Wang W, Zhang Z. Alpine Treeline Dynamics and the Special Exposure Effect in the Hengduan Mountains. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:861231. [PMID: 35463438 PMCID: PMC9024247 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.861231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Alpine treeline is highly sensitive to climate change, but there remains a lack of research on the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of treeline and their relationships with climate change at the landscape scale. We extracted positions of alpine treeline from high-resolution Google Earth images from three periods (2000, 2010, and 2020) and analyzed the elevation patterns and dynamics of treeline positions in the Hengduan Mountains. Based on the treeline positions in 2020, a buffer zone of 300 m is established as the treeline transition zone, and the changing trend of the fraction vegetation cover (FVC) from 2000 to 2020 and its relationship with climate are also analyzed. Due to the special geographical and climatic environment, the treeline in the Hengduan Mountains area is high in the middle but lower in the surrounding areas. We found that over the past 20 years, the treeline position did not change significantly but that the FVC increased in 80.3% of the treeline areas. The increase in FVC was related to the decrease in precipitation in the growing season. The results also revealed a special exposure effect on the alpine treeline in the Hengduan Mountains. Because of the lower treeline, isotherm position caused by the monsoon climate, the treeline position on south-facing slopes is lower than that on slopes with other exposures. Our results confirmed that the pattern and dynamics of the alpine treeline are driven by the regional monsoon climate regime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuyan Zou
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Chengyi Tu
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Dongmei Liu
- Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chaoying Yang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Wenli Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
| | - Zhiming Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
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25
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Nowak L, Schleuning M, Bender IMA, Kissling WD, Fritz SA. Independent variation of avian sensitivity to climate change and trait‐based adaptive capacity along a tropical elevational gradient. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Nowak
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Frankfurt (Main) Germany
- Institute for Ecology, Evolution & Diversity Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt (Main) Germany
| | - Matthias Schleuning
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Frankfurt (Main) Germany
| | - Irene M. A. Bender
- Instituto de Ecología Regional Universidad Nacional de Tucumán‐CONICET Yerba Buena Argentina
| | - W. Daniel Kissling
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Susanne A. Fritz
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK‐F) Frankfurt (Main) Germany
- Institut für Geowissenschaften Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt (Main) Germany
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26
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Uwizelimana JDD, Nsabimana D, Wagner T. Diversity and distribution of Fruit‐feeding butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda. Afr J Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jean de Dieu Uwizelimana
- Institut für Integrierte Naturwissenschaften Biologie Universität Koblenz‐Landau Koblenz Germany
- College of Science and Technology Biology Department University of Rwanda Kigali‐Rwanda Rwanda
| | - Donat Nsabimana
- College of Agriculture, Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine School of Forestry, Biodiversity and Conservation University of Rwanda Butare‐Rwanda Rwanda
| | - Thomas Wagner
- Institut für Integrierte Naturwissenschaften Biologie Universität Koblenz‐Landau Koblenz Germany
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27
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Auld J, Everingham SE, Hemmings FA, Moles AT. Alpine plants are on the move: Quantifying distribution shifts of Australian alpine plants through time. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Auld
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Susan E. Everingham
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia
- The Australian PlantBank Australian Institute of Botanical Science Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Botanic Gardens Greater Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern Bern Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research University of Bern Bern Switzerland
| | - Frank A. Hemmings
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Angela T. Moles
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney New South Wales Australia
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Rim G, Kong F, Song M, Rosu C, Priyadarshini P, Lively RP, Jones CW. Sub-Ambient Temperature Direct Air Capture of CO 2 using Amine-Impregnated MIL-101(Cr) Enables Ambient Temperature CO 2 Recovery. JACS AU 2022; 2:380-393. [PMID: 35252988 PMCID: PMC8889612 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.1c00414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Due to the dramatically increased atmospheric CO2 concentration and consequential climate change, significant effort has been made to develop sorbents to directly capture CO2 from ambient air (direct air capture, DAC) to achieve negative CO2 emissions in the immediate future. However, most developed sorbents have been studied under a limited array of temperature (>20 °C) and humidity conditions. In particular, the dearth of experimental data on DAC at sub-ambient conditions (e.g., -30 to 20 °C) and under humid conditions will severely hinder the large-scale implementation of DAC because the world has annual average temperatures ranging from -30 to 30 °C depending on the location and essentially no place has a zero absolute humidity. To this end, we suggest that understanding CO2 adsorption from ambient air at sub-ambient temperatures, below 20 °C, is crucial because colder temperatures represent important practical operating conditions and because such temperatures may provide conditions where new sorbent materials or enhanced process performance might be achieved. Here we demonstrate that MIL-101(Cr) materials impregnated with amines (TEPA, tetraethylenepentamine, or PEI, poly(ethylenimine)) offer promising adsorption and desorption behavior under DAC conditions in both the presence and absence of humidity under a wide range of temperatures (-20 to 25 °C). Depending on the amine loading and adsorption temperature, the sorbents show different CO2 capture behavior. With 30 and 50 wt % amine loadings, the sorbents show weak and strong chemisorption-dominant CO2 capture behavior, respectively. Interestingly, at -20 °C, the CO2 adsorption capacity of 30 wt % TEPA-impregnated MIL-101(Cr) significantly increased up to 1.12 mmol/g from 0.39 mmol/g at ambient conditions (25 °C) due to the enhanced weak chemisorption. More importantly, the sorbents also show promising working capacities (0.72 mmol/g) over 15 small temperature swing cycles with an ultralow regeneration temperature (-20 °C sorption to 25 °C desorption). The sub-ambient DAC performance of the sorbents is further enhanced under humid conditions, showing promising and stable CO2 working capacities over multiple humid small temperature swing cycles. These results demonstrate that appropriately designed DAC sorbents can operate in a weak chemisorption modality at low temperatures even in the presence of humidity. Significant energy savings may be realized via the utilization of small temperature swings enabled by this weak chemisorption behavior. This work suggests that significant work on DAC materials that operate at low, sub-ambient temperatures is warranted for possible deployment in temperate and polar climates.
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29
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Couet J, Marjakangas EL, Santangeli A, Kålås JA, Lindström Å, Lehikoinen A. Short-lived species move uphill faster under climate change. Oecologia 2022; 198:877-888. [PMID: 34989860 PMCID: PMC9056483 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-021-05094-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Climate change is pushing species ranges and abundances towards the poles and mountain tops. Although many studies have documented local altitudinal shifts, knowledge of general patterns at a large spatial scale, such as a whole mountain range, is scarce. From a conservation perspective, studying altitudinal shifts in wildlife is relevant because mountain regions often represent biodiversity hotspots and are among the most vulnerable ecosystems. Here, we examine whether altitudinal shifts in birds’ abundances have occurred in the Scandinavian mountains over 13 years, and assess whether such shifts are related to species’ traits. Using abundance data, we show a clear pattern of uphill shift in the mean altitude of bird abundance across the Scandinavian mountains, with an average speed of 0.9 m per year. Out of 76 species, 7 shifted significantly their abundance uphill. Altitudinal shift was strongly related to species’ longevity: short-lived species showed more pronounced uphill shifts in abundance than long-lived species. The observed abundance shifts suggest that uphill shifts are not only driven by a small number of individuals at the range boundaries, but the overall bird abundances are on the move. Overall, the results underscore the wide-ranging impact of climate change and the potential vulnerability of species with slow life histories, as they appear less able to timely respond to rapidly changing climatic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joséphine Couet
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 17, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Emma-Liina Marjakangas
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 17, 00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Andrea Santangeli
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 17, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Centre for Ecological Change, Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.,FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - John Atle Kålås
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Torgarden, Postboks 5685, 7485, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Åke Lindström
- Department of Biology, Biodiversity unit, Lund University, Ecology Building, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden
| | - Aleksi Lehikoinen
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 17, 00014, Helsinki, Finland.
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30
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Williams SE, de la Fuente A. Long-term changes in populations of rainforest birds in the Australia Wet Tropics bioregion: A climate-driven biodiversity emergency. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254307. [PMID: 34937065 PMCID: PMC8694438 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many authors have suggested that the vulnerability of montane biodiversity to climate change worldwide is significantly higher than in most other ecosystems. Despite the extensive variety of studies predicting severe impacts of climate change globally, few studies have empirically validated the predicted changes in distribution and population density. Here, we used 17 years (2000–2016) of standardised bird monitoring across latitudinal/elevational gradients in the rainforest of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area to assess changes in local abundance and elevational distribution. We used relative abundance in 1977 surveys across 114 sites ranging from 0-1500m above sea level and utilised a trend analysis approach (TRIM) to investigate elevational shifts in abundance of 42 species. The local abundance of most mid and high elevation species has declined at the lower edges of their distribution by >40% while lowland species increased by up to 190% into higher elevation areas. Upland-specialised species and regional endemics have undergone dramatic population declines of almost 50%. The “Outstanding Universal Value” of the Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, one of the most irreplaceable biodiversity hotspots on Earth, is rapidly degrading. These observed impacts are likely to be similar in many tropical montane ecosystems globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen E. Williams
- Centre for Tropical Environmental Science & Sustainability, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Alejandro de la Fuente
- Centre for Tropical Environmental Science & Sustainability, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
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31
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Vargas-Jaimes J, González-Fernández A, Joaquín Torres-Romero E, Bolom-Huet R, Manjarrez J, Gopar-Merino F, P. Pacheco X, Garrido-Garduño T, Chávez C, Sunny A. Impact of climate and land cover changes on the potential distribution of four endemic salamanders in Mexico. J Nat Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2021.126066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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32
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García‐Rodríguez A, Basanta MD, García‐Castillo MG, Zumbado‐Ulate H, Neam K, Rovito S, Searle CL, Parra‐Olea G. Anticipating the potential impacts of
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
on Neotropical salamander diversity. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.13042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrián García‐Rodríguez
- Departamento de Zoología Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México México
- BioInvasions, Global Change, Macroecology‐Group Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research University of Vienna Vienna Austria
| | - M. Delia Basanta
- Departamento de Zoología Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México México
- Centro de Ciencias Genómicas Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Cuernavaca Morelos México
| | - Mirna G. García‐Castillo
- Universidad Politécnica de Huatusco Huatusco Veracruz México
- Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias Región: Orizaba–Córdoba Universidad Veracruzana Amatlán de los Reyes Veracruz México
| | | | - Kelsey Neam
- Global Wildlife Conservation Austin Texas USA
- Amphibian Specialist Group IUCN Species Survival Commission USA
| | - Sean Rovito
- Unidad de Genómica Avanzada (Langebio) CINVESTAV Irapuato México
| | - Catherine L. Searle
- Department of Biological Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA
| | - Gabriela Parra‐Olea
- Departamento de Zoología Instituto de Biología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México Ciudad de México México
- Amphibian Specialist Group IUCN Species Survival Commission USA
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33
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Ghasemi S, Malekian M, Tarkesh M. Climate change pushes an economic insect to the brink of extinction: A case study for
Cyamophila astragalicola
in Iran. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Saeid Ghasemi
- Department of Natural Resources Isfahan University of Technology Isfahan Iran
| | - Mansoureh Malekian
- Department of Natural Resources Isfahan University of Technology Isfahan Iran
| | - Mostafa Tarkesh
- Department of Natural Resources Isfahan University of Technology Isfahan Iran
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34
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Carvajal Acosta AN, Mooney K. Effects of geographic variation in host plant resources for a specialist herbivore's contemporary and future distribution. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kailen Mooney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Irvine California USA
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35
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Genome-wide analysis reveals associations between climate and regional patterns of adaptive divergence and dispersal in American pikas. Heredity (Edinb) 2021; 127:443-454. [PMID: 34537819 PMCID: PMC8551249 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00472-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the role of adaptation in species' responses to climate change is important for evaluating the evolutionary potential of populations and informing conservation efforts. Population genomics provides a useful approach for identifying putative signatures of selection and the underlying environmental factors or biological processes that may be involved. Here, we employed a population genomic approach within a space-for-time study design to investigate the genetic basis of local adaptation and reconstruct patterns of movement across rapidly changing environments in a thermally sensitive mammal, the American pika (Ochotona princeps). Using genotypic data at 49,074 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we analyzed patterns of genome-wide diversity, structure, and migration along three independent elevational transects located at the northern extent (Tweedsmuir South Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada) and core (North Cascades National Park, Washington, USA) of the Cascades lineage. We identified 899 robust outlier SNPs within- and among-transects. Of those annotated to genes with known function, many were linked with cellular processes related to climate stress including ATP-binding, ATP citrate synthase activity, ATPase activity, hormone activity, metal ion-binding, and protein-binding. Moreover, we detected evidence for contrasting patterns of directional migration along transects across geographic regions that suggest an increased propensity for American pikas to disperse among lower elevation populations at higher latitudes where environments are generally cooler. Ultimately, our data indicate that fine-scale demographic patterns and adaptive processes may vary among populations of American pikas, providing an important context for evaluating biotic responses to climate change in this species and other alpine-adapted mammals.
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36
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Torkkola JJ, Chauvenet ALM, Hines H, Oliver PM. Distributional modelling, megafires and data gaps highlight probable underestimation of climate change risk for two lizards from Australia’s montane rainforests. AUSTRAL ECOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janne J. Torkkola
- Snake Out Brisbane 14 Ranger Street Kenmore Queensland 4069Australia
| | - Alienor L. M. Chauvenet
- School of Environment and Science, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security Griffith University 170 Kessels Rd Brisbane Queensland 4121Australia
| | - Harry Hines
- Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Moggill QueenslandAustralia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program Queensland Museum South Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Paul M. Oliver
- School of Environment and Science, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security Griffith University 170 Kessels Rd Brisbane Queensland 4121Australia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program Queensland Museum South Brisbane Queensland Australia
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37
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Gardner CJ, Bullock JM. In the Climate Emergency, Conservation Must Become Survival Ecology. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.659912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Earth faces a climate emergency which renders conservation goals largely obsolete. Current conservation actions are inadequate because they (i) underplay biodiversity's role in maintaining human civilisation, which contributes to its marginalisation, and (ii) rely on false assumptions of how to catalyse transformative change. We suggest a paradigm shift from biodiversity conservation to survival ecology, refocusing the field on safeguarding a planetary system in which humans and other species can thrive. Rather than seeking to maintain a world which will no longer exist, survival ecology acknowledges unavoidable change and seeks to shape the world that will: it looks to the future, not the past. Since conservation science and advocacy have not been sufficient to achieve the required change, survival ecologists should additionally embrace non-violent civil disobedience.
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38
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Kiedrzyński M, Zielińska KM, Jedrzejczyk I, Kiedrzyńska E, Tomczyk PP, Rewicz A, Rewers M, Indreica A, Bednarska I, Stupar V, Roleček J, Šmarda P. Tetraploids expanded beyond the mountain niche of their diploid ancestors in the mixed-ploidy grass Festuca amethystina L. Sci Rep 2021; 11:18735. [PMID: 34548532 PMCID: PMC8455632 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97767-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
One promising area in understanding the responses of plants to ongoing global climate change is the adaptative effect of polyploidy. This work examines whether there is a coupling between the distribution of cytotypes and their biogeographical niche, and how different niches will affect their potential range. The study uses a range of techniques including flow cytometry, gradient and niche analysis, as well as distribution modelling. In addition, climatic, edaphic and habitat data was used to analyse environmental patterns and potential ranges of cytotypes in the first wide-range study of Festuca amethystina-a mixed-ploidy mountain grass. The populations were found to be ploidy homogeneous and demonstrate a parapatric pattern of cytotype distribution. Potential contact zones have been identified. The tetraploids have a geographically broader distribution than diploids; they also tend to occur at lower altitudes and grow in more diverse climates, geological units and habitats. Moreover, tetraploids have a more extensive potential range, being six-fold larger than diploids. Montane pine forests were found to be a focal environment suitable for both cytotypes, which has a central place in the environmental space of the whole species. Our findings present polyploidy as a visible driver of geographical, ecological and adaptive variation within the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Kiedrzyński
- grid.10789.370000 0000 9730 2769Department of Biogeography, Paleoecology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Katarzyna M. Zielińska
- grid.10789.370000 0000 9730 2769Department of Geobotany and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Iwona Jedrzejczyk
- grid.466210.70000 0004 4673 5993Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Cytometry, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Edyta Kiedrzyńska
- grid.460361.60000 0004 4673 0316European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Lodz, Poland ,grid.10789.370000 0000 9730 2769UNESCO Chair on Ecohydrology and Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Przemysław P. Tomczyk
- grid.10789.370000 0000 9730 2769Department of Biogeography, Paleoecology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland ,grid.460361.60000 0004 4673 0316European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Lodz, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Rewicz
- grid.10789.370000 0000 9730 2769Department of Biogeography, Paleoecology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Monika Rewers
- grid.466210.70000 0004 4673 5993Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Cytometry, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Adrian Indreica
- grid.5120.60000 0001 2159 8361Department of Silviculture, Transilvania University of Brasov
, Brasov, Romania
| | - Iryna Bednarska
- Department of Nature Ecosystems Protection, Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians NASU, Lviv, Ukraine
| | - Vladimir Stupar
- grid.35306.330000 0000 9971 9023Faculty of Forestry, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Jan Roleček
- grid.10267.320000 0001 2194 0956Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic ,grid.418095.10000 0001 1015 3316Department of Paleoecology, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Šmarda
- grid.10267.320000 0001 2194 0956Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
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39
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Greenberg DA, Pyron RA, Johnson LGW, Upham NS, Jetz W, Mooers AØ. Evolutionary legacies in contemporary tetrapod imperilment. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:2464-2476. [PMID: 34510687 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Revised: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The Tree of Life will be irrevocably reshaped as anthropogenic extinctions continue to unfold. Theory suggests that lineage evolutionary dynamics, such as age since origination, historical extinction filters and speciation rates, have influenced ancient extinction patterns - but whether these factors also contribute to modern extinction risk is largely unknown. We examine evolutionary legacies in contemporary extinction risk for over 4000 genera, representing ~30,000 species, from the major tetrapod groups: amphibians, birds, turtles and crocodiles, squamate reptiles and mammals. We find consistent support for the hypothesis that extinction risk is elevated in lineages with higher recent speciation rates. We subsequently test, and find modest support for, a primary mechanism driving this pattern: that rapidly diversifying clades predominantly comprise range-restricted, and extinction-prone, species. These evolutionary patterns in current imperilment may have important consequences for how we manage the erosion of biological diversity across the Tree of Life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan A Greenberg
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - R Alexander Pyron
- Department of Biological Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Liam G W Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nathan S Upham
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Walter Jetz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Arne Ø Mooers
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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40
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Camac JS, Umbers KDL, Morgan JW, Geange SR, Hanea A, Slatyer RA, McDougall KL, Venn SE, Vesk PA, Hoffmann AA, Nicotra AB. Predicting species and community responses to global change using structured expert judgement: An Australian mountain ecosystems case study. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:4420-4434. [PMID: 34117681 PMCID: PMC8457067 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Conservation managers are under increasing pressure to make decisions about the allocation of finite resources to protect biodiversity under a changing climate. However, the impacts of climate and global change drivers on species are outpacing our capacity to collect the empirical data necessary to inform these decisions. This is particularly the case in the Australian Alps which have already undergone recent changes in climate and experienced more frequent large-scale bushfires. In lieu of empirical data, we use a structured expert elicitation method (the IDEA protocol) to estimate the change in abundance and distribution of nine vegetation groups and 89 Australian alpine and subalpine species by the year 2050. Experts predicted that most alpine vegetation communities would decline in extent by 2050; only woodlands and heathlands are predicted to increase in extent. Predicted species-level responses for alpine plants and animals were highly variable and uncertain. In general, alpine plants spanned the range of possible responses, with some expected to increase, decrease or not change in cover. By contrast, almost all animal species are predicted to decline or not change in abundance or elevation range; more species with water-centric life-cycles are expected to decline in abundance than other species. While long-term ecological data will always be the gold standard for informing the future of biodiversity, the method and outcomes outlined here provide a pragmatic and coherent basis upon which to start informing conservation policy and management in the face of rapid change and a paucity of data.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S. Camac
- Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk AnalysisSchool of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneParkvilleVic.Australia
- Research Centre for Applied Alpine EcologyLa Trobe UniversityBundooraVic.Australia
| | - Kate D. L. Umbers
- School of ScienceWestern Sydney UniversityPenrithNSWAustralia
- Hawkesbury Institute for the EnvironmentWestern Sydney UniversityPenrithNSWAustralia
| | - John W. Morgan
- Research Centre for Applied Alpine EcologyLa Trobe UniversityBundooraVic.Australia
- Department of EcologyEnvironment and EvolutionLa Trobe UniversityBundooraVic.Australia
| | - Sonya R. Geange
- Research School of BiologyAustralian National UniversityActonACTAustralia
| | - Anca Hanea
- Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk AnalysisSchool of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneParkvilleVic.Australia
| | - Rachel A. Slatyer
- Research School of BiologyAustralian National UniversityActonACTAustralia
| | - Keith L. McDougall
- NSW Department of Planning, Industry and EnvironmentQueanbeyanNSWAustralia
| | - Susanna E. Venn
- Centre for Integrative EcologySchool of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityBurwoodVic.Australia
| | - Peter A. Vesk
- School of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneParkvilleVic.Australia
| | - Ary A. Hoffmann
- Bio21 InstituteSchool of BioSciencesThe University of MelbourneParkvilleVic.Australia
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41
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Tena E, Tellería JL. Modelling the distribution of bat activity areas for conservation in a Mediterranean mountain range. Anim Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elena Tena
- Departamento de Biodiversidad Ecología y Evolución Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid Spain
| | - José Luis Tellería
- Departamento de Biodiversidad Ecología y Evolución Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid Spain
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42
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Scridel D, Brambilla M, de Zwaan DR, Froese N, Wilson S, Pedrini P, Martin K. A genus at risk: Predicted current and future distribution of all three
Lagopus
species reveal sensitivity to climate change and efficacy of protected areas. DIVERS DISTRIB 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Davide Scridel
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
- Museo delle Scienze Sezione Zoologia dei Vertebrati Corso della Scienza e del Lavoro Trento Italy
- Area Avifauna Migratrice Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA) Roma Italy
| | - Mattia Brambilla
- Museo delle Scienze Sezione Zoologia dei Vertebrati Corso della Scienza e del Lavoro Trento Italy
| | - Devin R de Zwaan
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Nick Froese
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Scott Wilson
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
- Environment and Climate Change Canada Pacific Wildlife Research Centre Delta BC Canada
| | - Paolo Pedrini
- Museo delle Scienze Sezione Zoologia dei Vertebrati Corso della Scienza e del Lavoro Trento Italy
| | - Kathy Martin
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
- Environment and Climate Change Canada Pacific Wildlife Research Centre Delta BC Canada
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43
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Role of Geographical Gaps in the Western Ghats in Shaping Intra- and Interspecific Genetic Diversity. J Indian Inst Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s41745-021-00241-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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44
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Gavrutenko M, Gerstner BE, Kass JM, Goodman SM, Anderson RP. Temporal matching of occurrence localities and forest cover data helps improve range estimates and predict climate change vulnerabilities. Glob Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
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Voskamp A, Butchart SHM, Baker DJ, Wilsey CB, Willis SG. Site-Based Conservation of Terrestrial Bird Species in the Caribbean and Central and South America Under Climate Change. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.625432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Two of the principal responses of species to recent climate change have been changes in range and abundance, leading to a global reshuffling of the geographic distribution of species. Such range changes may cause species to disappear from areas they currently occupy and, given the right conditions, to colonize new sites. This could affect the ability of site networks (such as protected areas) to conserve species. Identifying sites that will continue to provide suitable conditions for focal species under future climate change scenarios and sites that are likely to become unsuitable is important for effective conservation planning. Here we explore the impacts of climate change on terrestrial bird species of conservation concern in the Neotropics, and the consequences for the network of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) identified to conserve them. We modelled changes in species distributions for 3,798 species across the Caribbean and Central and South America, accounting for species-specific biological traits (natal dispersal ability and generation length), to assess species occurrences within IBAs under different future climate scenarios. Based on the projected changes in species compositions, we identified potential management strategies for the individual sites of the network. We projected that future climate change will have substantial impacts on the distribution of individual species across the IBA network, resulting in very heterogenous impacts on the individual IBAs. Mean turnover of species of conservation concern within IBAs was 17% by 2050. Nonetheless, under a medium-warming scenario, for 73% of the 939 species of conservation concern, more than half of the IBAs in which they currently occur were projected to remain climatically suitable, and for 90% at least a quarter of the sites remain suitable. These results suggest that the IBA network will remain robust under climate change. Nevertheless, 7% of the species of conservation concern are projected to have no suitable climate in the IBAs currently identified for them. Our results highlight the importance of a network-wide perspective when taking management decisions for individual sites under climate change.
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Satyanti A, Liantoro T, Thomas M, Neeman T, Nicotra AB, Guja LK. Predicting effects of warming requires a whole-of-life cycle perspective: a case study in the alpine herb Oreomyrrhis eriopoda. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 9:coab023. [PMID: 33959289 PMCID: PMC8084022 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Global warming is affecting plant phenology, growth and reproduction in complex ways and is particularly apparent in vulnerable alpine environments. Warming affects reproductive and vegetative traits, as well as phenology, but seldom do studies assess these traits in concert and across the whole of a plant's life cycle, particularly in wild species. Thus, it is difficult to extrapolate from such effects to predictions about the persistence of species or their conservation and management. We assessed trait variation in response to warming in Oreomyrrhis eriopoda, an Australian native montane herb, in which populations vary in germination strategy (degree of dormancy) and growth characteristics as a function of ecological factors. Warming accelerated growth in the early stages of development, particularly for populations with non-dormant seed. The differences in growth disappeared at the transition to reproduction, when an accelerating effect on phenology emerged, to varying degrees depending on germination strategy. Overall, warming reduced flower and seed production and increased mortality, indicating a reduction in reproductive opportunities, particularly for populations with dormant seed. Developmental condition affected germination strategy of the next generation seed, leading to increased degree of dormancy and slowed germination rate. But there were no whole-scale shifts in strategy or total germination percent. Following through the life cycle reveals that warming will have some potentially positive effects (early growth rates) and some negative effects (reduced reproductive output). Ultimately, warming impacts will depend on how those effects play out in the field: early establishment and an accelerated trajectory to seed maturity may offset the tradeoff with overall seed production. Small differences among germination strategies likewise may cascade to larger effects, with important implications for persistence of species in the alpine landscape. Thus, to understand and manage the response of wild species to warming takes a whole-of-life perspective and attention to ecologically significant patterns of within-species variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annisa Satyanti
- Division Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Robertson Building, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
- Centre for Plant Conservation—Botanic Gardens, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Jalan Ir. Haji Juanda, Bogor 16003, Indonesia
- National Seed Bank, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Parks Australia, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Toton Liantoro
- Division Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Robertson Building, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Morgan Thomas
- Division Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Robertson Building, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
- School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, QLD 4067, Australia
| | - Teresa Neeman
- Division Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Robertson Building, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
- Statistical Consulting Unit, The Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Adrienne B Nicotra
- Division Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Robertson Building, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - Lydia K Guja
- National Seed Bank, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Parks Australia, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
- Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, (a joint venture between the Parks Australia CSIRO), Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
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Neate-Clegg MHC, Jones SEI, Tobias JA, Newmark WD, Şekercioǧlu ÇH. Ecological Correlates of Elevational Range Shifts in Tropical Birds. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.621749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Globally, birds have been shown to respond to climate change by shifting their elevational distributions. This phenomenon is especially prevalent in the tropics, where elevational gradients are often hotspots of diversity and endemism. Empirical evidence has suggested that elevational range shifts are far from uniform across species, varying greatly in the direction (upslope vs. downslope) and rate of change (speed of elevational shift). However, little is known about the drivers of these variable responses to climate change, limiting our ability to accurately project changes in the future. Here, we compile empirical estimates of elevational shift rates (m/yr) for 421 bird species from eight study sites across the tropics. On average, species shifted their mean elevations upslope by 1.63 ± 0.30 m/yr, their upper limits by 1.62 m ± 0.38 m/yr, and their lower limits by 2.81 ± 0.42 m/yr. Upslope shift rates increased in smaller-bodied, less territorial species, whereas larger species were more likely to shift downslope. When considering absolute shift rates, rates were fastest for species with high dispersal ability, low foraging strata, and wide elevational ranges. Our results indicate that elevational shift rates are associated with species’ traits, particularly body size, dispersal ability, and territoriality. However, these effects vary substantially across sites, suggesting that responses of tropical montane bird communities to climate change are complex and best predicted within the local or regional context.
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Brighenti S, Hotaling S, Finn DS, Fountain AG, Hayashi M, Herbst D, Saros JE, Tronstad LM, Millar CI. Rock glaciers and related cold rocky landforms: Overlooked climate refugia for mountain biodiversity. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:1504-1517. [PMID: 33404095 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Mountains are global biodiversity hotspots where cold environments and their associated ecological communities are threatened by climate warming. Considerable research attention has been devoted to understanding the ecological effects of alpine glacier and snowfield recession. However, much less attention has been given to identifying climate refugia in mountain ecosystems where present-day environmental conditions will be maintained, at least in the near-term, as other habitats change. Around the world, montane communities of microbes, animals, and plants live on, adjacent to, and downstream of rock glaciers and related cold rocky landforms (CRL). These geomorphological features have been overlooked in the ecological literature despite being extremely common in mountain ranges worldwide with a propensity to support cold and stable habitats for aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. CRLs are less responsive to atmospheric warming than alpine glaciers and snowfields due to the insulating nature and thermal inertia of their debris cover paired with their internal ventilation patterns. Thus, CRLs are likely to remain on the landscape after adjacent glaciers and snowfields have melted, thereby providing longer-term cold habitat for biodiversity living on and downstream of them. Here, we show that CRLs will likely act as key climate refugia for terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity in mountain ecosystems, offer guidelines for incorporating CRLs into conservation practices, and identify areas for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Brighenti
- Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy
| | - Scott Hotaling
- School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
| | - Debra S Finn
- Department of Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, USA
| | | | - Masaki Hayashi
- Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - David Herbst
- Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory and Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - Jasmine E Saros
- School of Biology and Ecology, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA
| | - Lusha M Tronstad
- Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
| | - Constance I Millar
- Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Albany, CA, USA
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Neate-Clegg MHC, Stuart SN, Mtui D, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Newmark WD. Afrotropical montane birds experience upslope shifts and range contractions along a fragmented elevational gradient in response to global warming. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0248712. [PMID: 33784307 PMCID: PMC8009416 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Global warming is predicted to result in upslope shifts in the elevational ranges of bird species in montane habitats. Yet few studies have examined changes over time in the elevational distribution of species along fragmented gradients in response to global warming. Here, we report on a resurvey of an understory bird community in the Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, along a forested elevational gradient that has been fragmented over the last 200 years. In 2019, we resurveyed seven sites, ranging in elevation from 360 m to 2110 m, that were originally surveyed between 1979 and 1981. We calculated differences in mean elevation and lower and upper range limits for 29 species between the two time periods and corrected for possible differences in elevation due to chance. Over four decades, we documented a significant mean upslope shift across species of 93 m. This shift was smaller than the 125 m expected shift due to local climate warming. Of the 29 focal species, 19 shifted upslope, eight downslope, and two remained unchanged. Mean upslope shifts in species were driven largely by contracting lower range limits which moved significantly upslope on average across species by 183 m, while upper range limits shifted non-significantly upslope by 72 m, leading to a mean range contraction of 114 m across species. Community composition of understory bird species also shifted over time, with current communities resembling communities found historically at lower elevations. Past forest fragmentation in combination with the limited gap-crossing ability of many tropical understory bird species are very likely important contributory factors to the observed asymmetrical shifts in lower and upper elevational range limits. Re-establishing forested linkages among the largest and closest forest fragments in the Eastern Arc Mountains are critical to permitting species to shift upslope and to reduce further elevational range contractions over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Montague H. C. Neate-Clegg
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Simon N. Stuart
- Synchronicity Earth, London, United Kingdom
- A Rocha International, London, United Kingdom
- IUCN SSC, David Attenborough Building, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Devolent Mtui
- Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania
| | - Çağan H. Şekercioğlu
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
- Faculty of Sciences, Koç University, Rumelifeneri, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - William D. Newmark
- Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
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What Will Remain? Predicting the Representation in Protected Areas of Suitable Habitat for Endangered Tropical Avifauna in Borneo under a Combined Climate- and Land-Use Change Scenario. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13052792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The responses of threatened tropical avian species to projected climate change and land-use change are important for evaluating the ability of the existing protected areas to provide habitat to these species under future scenarios in biodiversity hotspots. This study uses Maxent, a species distribution model that employs a maximum entropy machine learning approach to map the spatial distributions of habitats suitable for the International Union for Conservation of Nature threatened birds under present and future climate and land-use change in Borneo. We find that the existing protected areas provide very low coverage of the threatened bird species’ suitable habitat areas (95%CI = 9.3–15.4%). Analysis of habitat suitability projections for 18 species of threatened birds suggests that in 2050, under Special Report on Emissions Scenarios A1B and B1, avian species with currently little suitable habitat may gain area but lose in the proportion of this that is protected. Large-ranged species are likely to lose habitat area and this will inflate the proportion of this remaining in protected areas. The present availability of suitable habitat was the most important determinant of future habitat availability under both the scenarios. Threat level, as measured by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the habitat preferences considered here, Lowland or Lowland–Montane, are poor predictors of the amount of habitat contraction or expansion undergone by the species.
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