Article
Ecology
Ty J. Werdel, Colleen W. Piper, Andrew M. Ricketts, Matt S. Peek, Adam A. Ahlers
Summary: This study investigated the influence of landscape pattern on the distribution of swift foxes at the eastern edge of their range and the effects of the conservation reserve program (CRP) on their distribution. The results showed that swift foxes were more likely to occur at sites with moderate landcover diversity, a greater proportion of shortgrass prairie and loamy soil types, and lower proportions of CRP landcover. Additionally, the use of CRP may constrain swift fox distributions at their range edge.
Article
Ecology
Lisbeth A. Hordley, Richard Fox, Andrew J. Suggitt, Nigel A. D. Bourn
Summary: Species' distributions are shifting polewards in response to climate change, with more evidence of range expansions in warm-adapted species than range retractions in cool-adapted species. In a study of 76 cool-adapted moths in Great Britain, it was found that the shifts in range centroids are oriented towards the north-west and are correlated with changes in total precipitation rather than average temperature. The study also revealed that areas with high temperature and low precipitation pose higher local extinction risk for species, which diminishes as precipitation increases.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lukas Heiland, Georges Kunstler, Paloma Ruiz-Benito, Allan Buras, Jonas Dahlgren, Lisa Hulsmann
Summary: Recent research has shown that climate change has led to shifts in the distribution range of tree species. However, it is unclear to what extent ontogenetic effects contribute to the divergent occurrences between juvenile and adult trees along large-scale climatic gradients. This study used theoretical modeling and empirical analysis to demonstrate that ontogenetic effects are a relevant cause of divergent occurrences between life stages, challenging the practice of inferring climate change impacts from static data.
Article
Ecology
Debanjan Sarkar, Gautam Talukdar
Summary: Climate change poses a major threat to biodiversity by impacting species distribution. Hornbills, large tropical birds in Asia and Africa, play a crucial role in maintaining ecological community structure through seed dispersal and are considered keystone species. This study models the current and future climatic niches of Indian hornbills, predicting significant shifts and loss of suitable habitats under different climate scenarios.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Costanza Geppert, Alessio Bertolli, Filippo Prosser, Lorenzo Marini
Summary: Mountain ecosystems are undergoing significant changes in plant distribution due to human activities. The range dynamics of mountain plants show large variability, with some species expanding, shifting, or shrinking their range. A study of 1,479 species in the European Alps over the past 30 years found that red-listed species experienced a rapid range contraction and were unable to track climate warming. In contrast, aliens quickly expanded upslope while keeping their rear margins almost still. The findings suggest that conservation efforts should prioritize low-elevation areas where red-listed natives and aliens coexist.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Peixiao Nie, Jianmeng Feng
Summary: The yellow fever mosquito and Asian tiger mosquito are major vectors of mosquito-borne pathogens worldwide. This study examines their niche and range shifts and the underlying mechanisms. The research finds that both species have experienced substantial niche and range expansions, with the introduced populations having more opportunities to adapt to various environmental conditions. Mitigating climate change could effectively control their invasions. The Asian tiger mosquito has a faster invasion rate and greater niche and range expansion than the yellow fever mosquito, making it a more invasive vector. Niche shifts may be a more important indicator for biological invasion assessments.
Article
Biology
Colin J. Carlson, Ellen Bannon, Emily Mendenhall, Timothy Newfield, Shweta Bansal
Summary: Facing climate change, tropical species are being displaced to higher latitudes and elevations. This study tracks the observed range limits of African malaria mosquito vectors and finds that their ranges have been shifting towards higher elevations and polewards. These shifts are consistent with recent climate change and may contribute to the spread of malaria into new areas.
Article
Plant Sciences
Kerry-Anne Grey, Wendy B. Foden, Guy F. Midgley
Summary: This study examines the environmental controls on Aloidendron dichotomum photosynthesis during population expansion in response to anthropogenic climate change. The research finds that nocturnal acid accumulation and CO2 assimilation are key factors affected by nighttime temperature and light availability, which has implications for the directional population expansion.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Max Mallen-Cooper, William K. Cornwell, Eve Slavich, Manon E. B. Sabot, Zoe A. Xirocostas, David J. Eldridge
Summary: Based on a 25-year-old biocrust survey in south-eastern Australia, this study found that most taxa of biocrusts have experienced shifts in their climate niches towards hotter and drier conditions in the past quarter century. However, the majority of taxa showed consistent responses and remained in the same geographic range, except for a few taxa that exhibited contraction at their arid range edges. This suggests that biocrust species are lagging behind the pace of climate change and may incur losses in ecosystem functionality in the contracting front.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jenny A. Hodgson, Zoe Randle, Chris R. Shortall, Tom H. Oliver
Summary: There is little empirical evidence on how the configuration of habitat affects expansion at species' cool range margins. This study analyzed colonization events of southerly distributed moths in Britain and found that habitat configuration influences contemporary range shifts. Woodland species' colonization was predicted by woodland habitat conductance, regardless of dispersal distances and habitat needs. For species associated with farmland or suburban habitats, colonization was slower in landscapes with high variance in elevation and/or temperature.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Guoqing Li, Jinghua Huang
Summary: This study examines the habitat range shift velocity of tree species in China under future climate change scenarios. The results indicate that the tree species are expected to shift northwards, with northwest and northeast directions accounting for a larger proportion. The shift directions described by the bioclimatic envelope model are inconsistent with those described by the climate velocity method.
Review
Ecology
Steven R. Beissinger, Eric A. Riddell
Summary: The study found that species' traits are not reliable predictors of range shifts occurring over decades to a century. Factors such as imperfect trait measurements, species detection issues, different responses to altitudinal and latitudinal ranges, and an emphasis on linear relationships instead of nonlinear responses contribute to the poor performance of traits in describing interspecific variation in range shifts. To improve trait-based approaches, it is important to recognize that traits interact in unexpected ways and that different trait combinations may have equivalent functionality.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS, VOL 52, 2021
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Lixia Han, Zhixin Zhang, Weishan Tu, Qing Zhang, Yanhua Hong, Shengnan Chen, Zhiqiang Lin, Shimin Gu, Yuanbao Du, Zhengjun Wu, Xuan Liu
Summary: Many studies have questioned the niche conservatism hypothesis (NCH) and the usefulness of ecological niche models (ENMs) for predicting species distributions, as they have detected climatic niche shifts during range changes. Incorporating preferred prey in the assessment of NCH and ENM predictions improved the accuracy of predicting range shifts for the Asian openbill bird. Identifying species' preferred prey provides insights into the importance of trophic interactions and their impact on species distributions in response to climate change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Shawan Chowdhury, Michael F. Braby, Richard A. Fuller, Myron P. Zalucki
Summary: The Tawny Coster butterfly has rapidly expanded its geographic range in Australia at an average rate of about 135 km/year, with female-biased migration observed in north-eastern Queensland. Despite the rapid expansion, there is little evidence of a significant climatic niche shift, with only minor changes observed in the early and late expansion phases. The sudden expansion could potentially be triggered by tropical deforestation, but further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms involved.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Chiara Mancino, Daniele Canestrelli, Luigi Maiorano
Summary: Global changes pose a significant threat to biodiversity, especially for species that use different habitats during their life cycles. This study focuses on loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea and examines how climate change and habitat destruction interact to affect their nesting grounds. The results suggest a shift in nesting grounds towards the northwest Mediterranean, with anthropogenic variables and sea surface temperature playing significant roles in nesting probability.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Adrienne E. Kasprowicz, Mark J. Statham, Benjamin N. Sacks
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2016)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zachary T. Lounsberry, Cate B. Quinn, Mark J. Statham, Carla L. Angulo, Tatyana J. Kalani, Eugene Tiller, Benjamin N. Sacks
CONSERVATION GENETICS
(2017)
Article
Zoology
Carrie Merson, Mark J. Statham, Jan E. Janecka, Roel R. Lopez, Nova J. Silvy, Benjamin N. Sacks
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2017)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Glenn Yannic, Mark J. Statham, Laure Denoyelle, Guillaume Szor, George Q. Qulaut, Benjamin N. Sacks, Nicolas Lecomte
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Benjamin N. Sacks, Mark J. Statham, Heiko U. Wittmer
JOURNAL OF FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2017)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Johan Wallen, Mark J. Statham, Erik Agren, Marja Isomursu, Oystein Flagstad, Thomas Bjorneboe-Berg, Benjamin N. Sacks, Karin Noren
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2018)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Benjamin N. Sacks, Zachary T. Lounsberry, Mark J. Statham
JOURNAL OF HEREDITY
(2018)
Article
Geography, Physical
M. J. Statham, C. J. Edwards, K. Noren, C. D. Soulsbury, B. N. Sacks
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2018)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Mark J. Statham, William T. Bean, Nathan Alexander, Michael F. Westphal, Benjamin N. Sacks
JOURNAL OF HEREDITY
(2019)
Article
Zoology
Nathan B. Alexander, Mark J. Statham, Benjamin N. Sacks, William T. Bean
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Mark J. Statham, Deborah A. (Smith) Woollett, Susan Fresquez, Jerene Pfeiffer, Jonathan Richmond, Alice Whitelaw, Ngaio L. Richards, Michael F. Westphal, Benjamin N. Sacks
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephanie T. Castle, Nora Allan, Deana Clifford, Cody M. Aylward, Jon Ramsey, Andrea J. Fascetti, Risa Pesapane, Austin Roy, Mark Statham, Benjamin Sacks, Janet Foley
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Ona S. Alminas, James R. Heffelfinger, Mark J. Statham, Emily K. Latch
Summary: Mule deer in Mexico are facing conservation concerns, particularly the subspecies on islands. Genetic studies reveal unique genetic features in Cedros and Tiburon Island deer, emphasizing the need for conservation efforts to ensure their persistence and survival.
JOURNAL OF HEREDITY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Benjamin N. Sacks, Kieren J. Mitchell, Cate B. Quinn, Lauren M. Hennelly, Mikkel-Holger S. Sinding, Mark J. Statham, Sophie Preckler-Quisquater, Steven R. Fain, Logan Kistler, Stevi L. Vanderzwan, Julie A. Meachen, Elaine A. Ostrander, Laurent A. F. Frantz
Summary: The study reveals that red wolves had a long history on the American continent, with more complex phylogenetic relationships with coyotes and grey wolves than previously thought. Red wolves have experienced extinction and survival in the past, predating European colonization, humans, and even coyotes in North America.
Article
Fisheries
Mark J. Statham, Laureen Barthman-Thompson, Susan Fresquez, Benjamin N. Sacks
Summary: The study identified characteristics to differentiate the salt marsh harvest mouse from the western harvest mouse, developing a decision tree that accurately classified most mice to species. Further testing is recommended on additional mice from new locations across the range.
CALIFORNIA FISH AND WILDLIFE JOURNAL
(2021)