Usefulness of Species Traits in Predicting Range Shifts

Do species' traits predict recent shifts at expanding range edges?

Although some organisms have moved to higher elevations and latitudes in response to recent climate change, there is little consensus regarding the capacity of different species to track rapid climate change via range shifts. Understanding species' abilities to shift ranges has important implications for assessing extinction risk and predicting future community structure. At an expanding front,...

Species' traits as predictors of range shifts under contemporary climate change: A review and meta-analysis.

A growing body of literature seeks to explain variation in range shifts using species' ecological and life-history traits, with expectations that shifts should be greater in species with greater dispersal ability, reproductive potential, and ecological generalization. Despite strong theoretical support for species' traits as predictors of range shifts, empirical evidence from contemporary range...

Shifts in stomatal traits following the domestication of plant species.

Stomata are the major gates regulating substrate availability for photosynthesis and water loss. Although both processes are critical to yield and to resource-use efficiency, we lack a comprehensive picture on how domestication and further breeding have impacted on leaf stomata. To fill this gap, stomatal sizes and densities were screened in cultivated and wild ancestor representatives of a uni...

Combining Static and Dynamic Landscape Variables When Predicting Species’ Range Shifts under Climate Change

Predicting species' range limits from functional traits for the tree flora of North America.

Using functional traits to explain species' range limits is a promising approach in functional biogeography. It replaces the idiosyncrasy of species-specific climate ranges with a generic trait-based predictive framework. In addition, it has the potential to shed light on specific filter mechanisms creating large-scale vegetation patterns. However, its application to a continental flora, spanni...