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Journal Article

Chasing the Niche: Escaping Climate Change Threats in Place, Time, and Space

Ranjan Muthukrishnan; Tara M. Smiley; Pascal O. Title; Adam M. Fudickar; Alex E. Jahn; Jennifer A. Lau
Global Change Biology · Vol. 31, Issue 4 · 2025

Abstract

Climate change is creating mismatches between species' current environments and their historical niches. Locations that once had the abiotic and biotic conditions to support the persistence of a species may now be too warm, too dry, or simply too different, to meet their niche requirements. Changes in behaviors, altered phenology, and range shifts are common responses to climate change. Though these responses are often studied in isolation by scientists from disparate subfields of ecology, they all represent variants of the same solution—strategies to realign the conditions populations experience with their niche. Here, we aim to (1) identify the physiological and ecological effects, and potential alignment, of these three ecological responses: shifts in behavior, phenology, or ranges, (2) determine the circumstances under which each type of response may be more or less effective at mitigating the effects of climate change, and (3) consider how these strategies might interact with each other. Each response has been previously reviewed, but efforts to consider relationships between ecological (or with evolutionary) responses have been limited. A synthetic perspective that considers the similarities among ecological responses and how they interact with each other and with evolutionary responses offers a more robust view on species' resilience to climate change.

Bibliographic Information

JournalGlobal Change Biology
PublisherWiley
Publication Date2025-04-01
Publication Year2025
Volume31
Issue4
Document TypeJournal Article
Print ISSN1354-1013
eISSN1365-2486
DOI10.1111/gcb.70167
SubjectConservation Science

Access Information

NARA Access Coverage1997-01-01~Current
Journal Homepagehttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/loi/13652486
Publisher PageOpen Publisher Page
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