Evolution of Elevational Range Shifts
As temperatures continue rising globally, many species have begun shifting their distribution upslope and/or poleward. However, species are responding in idiosyncratic ways, and species across their geographic ranges don’t always shift in the same direction. I am interested in the following: 1) What are the extrinsic factors, and associated physiological mechanisms, that underlie range shifts? 2) Why do some species shift while others do not? and 3) Do average conditions, or climatic extremes, determine range limits? Currently, I am working on identifying the drivers of lower and upper range limit shifts for birds, beetles, and mammals. Managers will be able to use the results of this work to understand the greater extent of elevational shifts across the region, identify areas of greatest future extirpation risk, and apply this information in conservation planning for this species and others.
Abundance Modeling for Forecasting Distributional Shifts
Population abundances (and densities) are believed to be, in part, representative of habitat quality, which influence vital rates. Abundances have been documented to decline after habitat quality deteriorates, frequently in a lagged manner. Therefore, declining or overall low abundances may act as an early indicator of extinction risk at the population level. Since abundances can be readily measured for most terrestrial species, I am interested in questions related to this population metric, including, 1) What determines whether species’ exhibits abundance distributions that follow unimodal, bimodal, constant, etc. distributions along abiotic gradients? 2) Do species ‘lean’ upslope and/or northwards prior to shifting their distributions? and 3) Do abundances generally increase before plummeting, influenced by underlying changes in vital rates as a form of demographic compensation, or do they instead decline slowly through time?
Space-for-Time Substitutions and Species-Climate Relationships
Documenting changes in occupancy along biophysical gradients (e.g. elevational or urbanization gradients) can be a great way to assess and predict the effects of climate change on species. One approach using these gradients is called a space-for-time substitution. Space-for-time substitutions represent one way we can understand how species might respond to future warming when historical data are lacking. This study design not only allows us to understand where the species’ climatic niche space is currently, but also where it used to be and where it will be in the future. Since robust historical sampling efforts are rare for most species and regions, I am interested in developing this method further to better understand the strengths and weaknesses it possesses for answering questions in global change research.
