Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
13
EcologicalConsequences
ofClimateChange:
Synthesis and
Research Needs
Erik A. Beever and Jerrold L. Belant
CONTENTS
Importance.of.Mechanistic.Understanding............................................................. 287
Some.Things.We.Know,.and.Things.We.Have.Learned......................................... 287
Remaining.Gaps.in.Our.Understanding—Some.Examples.................................... 288
Looking.Forward.to.the.Future............................................................................... 291
Summary................................................................................................................. 292
References.............................................................................................................. 292
As.has.been.evidenced.throughout.the.chapters,.characterizations.of.biotic.response.
to.recent.climate.change.continue.to.occur,.and.with.a.quickening.pace.compared.to.
earlier.research.on.the.topic..However,.as.also.evidenced.throughout.this.topic,.the.
complete.story.involved.in.most.responses.is.invariably.more.nuanced..Some.species.
will.exhibit.dramatic.response.to.a.particular.aspect.of.altered.climate,.others.may.
exhibit.a.minimal.or.no.detectable.response,.while.a.few.exhibit.a.response.counter.
to. what. would. be. predicted. by. a. tight. relationship. to. climate.. For. example,. under.
warmer.climates.in.a.portion.of.a.mountain.range,.some.species'.elevational.limits.
will.retract.upslope.at.the.lower.edge,.other.species'.limits.at.the.upper.edge,.while.
still.others.may.shift.their.lower-.or.upper-elevational.boundary.(or.both).downslope.
(Moritz.et.al..2008;.Lenoir.et.al..2010;.Wilson.and.Gutiérrez.
this volume
)..Similarly,.
the. same. species. may. exhibit. dramatic. reductions. in. distribution. in. some. regions,.
yet.experience.few.or.no.apparent.losses.in.other.portions.of.the.species'.geographic.
range.(e.g..Walther.et.al..2002;.Bruggerman.2009;.Beever.et.al..2010)..Alternatively,.
the.same.species.may.have.its.distribution.controlled.by.one.factor.in.a.portion.of.its.
range,.and.by.another.factor.at.different.elevations,.latitudes,.years,.seasons,.or.even.
weeks. (Stenseth. et. al.. 2002;. Hallett. et. al.. 2004;. Murphy. and. Lovett-Doust. 2007)..
However,.just.as.a.city's.environment.is.better.described.by.its.climate.than.by.its.
forecast.for.the.next.day's.weather,.the.complete.story.of.responses.to.recent.climate.
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