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Adaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient.

ABSTRACT: Biological responses to climate change have been widely documented across taxa and regions, but it remains unclear whether species are maintaining a good match between phenotype and environment, i.e. whether observed trait changes are adaptive. Here we reviewed 10,090 abstracts and extracted data from 71 studies reported in 58 relevant publications, to assess quantitatively whether phenotypic trait changes associated with climate change are adaptive in animals. A meta-analysis focussing on birds, the taxon best represented in our dataset, suggests that global warming has not systematically affected morphological traits, but has advanced phenological traits. We demonstrate that these advances are adaptive for some species, but imperfect as evidenced by the observed consistent selection for earlier timing. Application of a theoretical model indicates that the evolutionary load imposed by incomplete adaptive responses to ongoing climate change may already be threatening the persistence of species.

SUBMITTER: Radchuk V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6650445 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Adaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient.

Radchuk Viktoriia V Reed Thomas T Teplitsky Céline C van de Pol Martijn M Charmantier Anne A Hassall Christopher C Adamík Peter P Adriaensen Frank F Ahola Markus P MP Arcese Peter P Miguel Avilés Jesús J Balbontin Javier J Berg Karl S KS Borras Antoni A Burthe Sarah S Clobert Jean J Dehnhard Nina N de Lope Florentino F Dhondt André A AA Dingemanse Niels J NJ Doi Hideyuki H Eeva Tapio T Fickel Joerns J Filella Iolanda I Fossøy Frode F Goodenough Anne E AE Hall Stephen J G SJG Hansson Bengt B Harris Michael M Hasselquist Dennis D Hickler Thomas T Joshi Jasmin J Kharouba Heather H Martínez Juan Gabriel JG Mihoub Jean-Baptiste JB Mills James A JA Molina-Morales Mercedes M Moksnes Arne A Ozgul Arpat A Parejo Deseada D Pilard Philippe P Poisbleau Maud M Rousset Francois F Rödel Mark-Oliver MO Scott David D Senar Juan Carlos JC Stefanescu Constanti C Stokke Bård G BG Kusano Tamotsu T Tarka Maja M Tarwater Corey E CE Thonicke Kirsten K Thorley Jack J Wilting Andreas A Tryjanowski Piotr P Merilä Juha J Sheldon Ben C BC Pape Møller Anders A Matthysen Erik E Janzen Fredric F Dobson F Stephen FS Visser Marcel E ME Beissinger Steven R SR Courtiol Alexandre A Kramer-Schadt Stephanie S

Nature communications 20190723 1

Biological responses to climate change have been widely documented across taxa and regions, but it remains unclear whether species are maintaining a good match between phenotype and environment, i.e. whether observed trait changes are adaptive. Here we reviewed 10,090 abstracts and extracted data from 71 studies reported in 58 relevant publications, to assess quantitatively whether phenotypic trait changes associated with climate change are adaptive in animals. A meta-analysis focussing on birds ...[more]

PMID: 31337752

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Project description:The ability of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) populations to adapt to the ongoing climate change is especially important in the southern part of Europe, where environmental change is expected to be more intense. In this study, we tested the existing adaptive potential of eight beech populations from two provenances in N.E. Greece (Evros and Drama) that show differences in their environmental conditions and biogeographical background. Seedling survival, growth and leaf phenological traits were selected as adaptive traits and were measured under simulated controlled climate change conditions in a growth chamber. Seedling survival was also tested under current conditions in the field. In the growth chamber, simulated conditions of temperature and precipitation for the year 2050 were applied for 3 years, under two different irrigation schemes, where the same amount of water was distributed either frequently (once every week) or non-frequently (once in 20 days). The results showed that beech seedlings were generally able to survive under climate change conditions and showed adaptive differences among provenances and populations. Furthermore, changes in the duration of the growing season of seedlings were recorded in the growth chamber, allowing them to avoid environmental stress and high selection pressure. Differences were observed between populations and provenances in terms of temporal distribution patterns of precipitation and temperature, rather than the average annual or monthly values of these measures. Additionally, different adaptive strategies appeared among beech seedlings when the same amount of water was distributed differently within each month. This indicates that the physiological response mechanisms of beech individuals are very complex and depend on several interacting parameters. For this reason, the choice of beech provenances for translocation and use in afforestation or reforestation projects should consider the small scale ecotypic diversity of the species and view multiple environmental and climatic parameters in connection to each other.

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Adaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient.

Publications

Adaptive responses of animals to climate change are most likely insufficient.

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