Lise Comte, Romain Bertrand, Sarah Diamond, Lesley T Lancaster, Malin L Pinsky, Brett R Scheffers, J Alex Baecher, R M W J Bandara, I-Ching Chen, Jake A Lawlor, Nikki A Moore, Brunno F Oliveira, Jerome Murienne, Jonathan Rolland, Madeleine A Rubenstein, Jennifer Sunday, Laura M Thompson, Fabricio Villalobos, Sarah R Weiskopf, Jonathan Lenoir
Ecological and evolutionary theories have proposed that species traits should be important in mediating species responses to contemporary climate change; yet, empirical evidence has so far provided mixed evidence for the role of behavioral, life history, or ecological characteristics in facilitating or hindering species range shifts. As such, the utility of trait-based approaches to predict species redistribution under climate change has been called into question. We develop the perspective, supported by evidence, that trait variation, if used carefully can have high potential utility, but that past analyses have in many cases failed to identify an explanatory value for traits by not fully embracing the complexity of species range shifts...
April 2024: Global Change Biology