Adapt or disperse: understanding species persistence in a changing world

Abstract

The majority of studies on environmental change focus on the response of single species and neglect fundamental biotic interactions, such as mutualism, competition, predation, and parasitism, which complicate patterns of species persistence. Under global warming, disruption of community interactions can arise when species differ in their sensitivity to rising temperature, leading to mismatched phenologies and/or dispersal patterns. To study species persistence under global climate change, it is critical to consider the ecology and evolution of multispecies interactions; however, the sheer number of potential interactions makes a full study of all interactions unfeasible. One mechanistic approach to solving the problem of complicated community context to global change is to (i) define strategy groups of species based on life-history traits, trophic position, or location in the ecosystem, (ii) identify species involved in key interactions within these groups, and (iii) determine from the interactions of these key species which traits to study in order to understand the response to global warming. We review the importance of multispecies interactions looking at two trait categories: thermal sensitivity of metabolic rate and associated lifehistory traits and dispersal traits of species. A survey of published literature shows pronounced and consistent differences among trophic groups in thermal sensitivity of lifehistory traits and in dispersal distances. Our approach increases the feasibility of unraveling such a large and diverse set of community interactions, with the ultimate goal of improving our understanding of community responses to global warming.

Novel communities from climate change

“…Mounting evidence shows that habitat generalists shift ranges more easily than habitat specialists [63]. However, limited data exist directly on the dispersal abilities and degree of specialization for most species (but see [59] for an exception).…”

Collapse of an ecological network in Ancient Egypt

“…Theoretical work suggests that climate warming may have a large impact on trophic chain length and top-down vs. bottom-up dynamics, where higher trophic species are predicted to be at greatest risk (52). However, to what extent the dynamical consequences of perturbed ecological communities impact species persistence is largely unknown, and this is partly due to a lack of knowledge regarding how animal assemblages and species interactions change over time (53). Although we cannot ascribe causality to any single extinction event, because the persistence of each species over time is known, we can determine whether extinction is predictable.…”

Trait plasticity in species interactions: a driving force of community dynamics

“…Although changing conditions may lead to stressful conditions in local communities, dispersal ability provides the potential to escape adverse direct and indirect consequences of environmental changes by colonizing new habitats (Watkinson and Gill 2002). However, spatial associations are disrupted due to a wide range in dispersal ability of species (Berg et al 2010). Moreover, differential dispersal of phenotypes with different trait plasticities, may provide local populations with better adapted individuals, and rescue the population from extinction (Urban et al 2008).…”