Delimiting the habitat characteristics describing the environmental conditions required by a species has become a critical tool for predicting organismal responses to environmental change. Grinnell emphasized the effects of environmental factors on the ability of a population to maintain a positive growth rate, yet few studies have included demographic or reproductive data in analyses of the Gr...

Climate change models are predicting increased frequency and severity of droughts in arid and semiarid environments, and these areas are responsible for much of the world's livestock production. Because cattle (Bos Taurus) grazing can impact the abundance, distribution, and ecological function of native plant and animal communities, it is important to understand how cattle might respond to incr...

Reliable estimations of drought tolerance in wild plant populations have proved to be challenging and more accessible alternatives are desirable. With that in mind, an ecological diversity study was conducted based on the geographical origin of 104 wild common bean accessions to estimate drought tolerance in their natural habitats. Our wild population sample covered a range of mesic to very dry...

Accurate taxonomy, population demography, and habitat descriptors inform species threat assessments and the design of effective conservation measures. Here we combine published studies with new genetic, morphological and habitat data that were collected from seahorse populations located along the European and North African coastlines to help inform management decisions for European seahorses. T...

Climate warming is predicted to shift species’ ranges as previously uninhabitable environments just beyond the leading range edges become suitable habitat and trailing increasingly unsuitable. Understanding which aspects of environment species traits mediate these shifts critical for understanding possible redistributions under global change, yet we have a limited ecological evolutionary respon...

Amy L. Angert,* Lisa G. Crozier, Leslie J. Rissler, Sarah E. Gilman, Josh J. Tewksbury and Amanda J. Chunco Abstract 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 im...

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,...

Mechanistic modelling approaches that explicitly translate from individual-scale resource selection to the distribution and abundance of a larger population may be better suited to predicting responses to spatially heterogeneous habitat alteration than commonly-used regression models. We developed an individual-based model of home range establishment that, given a mapped distribution of local h...

From approximately 11,200 to 8,000 years ago, the Great Plains of North America were populated by small Paleoindian hunting groups with well developed weaponry and the expertise to successfully hunt large mammals, especially mammoths and bison. Mammoths became extinct on the Plains by 11,000 years ago, and, although paleoecological conditions were worsening, their demise may have been hastened ...