Range Shifts and Adaptive Responses to Quaternary Climate Change

Tree taxa shifted latitude or elevation range in response to changes in Quaternary climate. Because many modern trees display adaptive differentiation in relation to latitude or elevation, it is likely that ancient trees were also so differentiated, with environmental sensitivities of populations th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2001-04, Vol.292 (5517), p.673-679
Main Authors: Davis, Margaret B., Shaw, Ruth G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
Animal migration behavior
Biological Evolution
Climate
Climate change
Climate change adaptation
Climate models
Climatic changes
Ecosystem
Environmental aspects
Evolution
Feedback (Response)
Future
Genes, Plant
Genetic Variation
Genetics
Genetics, Population
Geographic Distribution
Holocene
Individualized Instruction
Land Use
Migration Patterns
Paleobotany
Paleoclimatology
Persistence
Phenotypic traits
Pleistocene
Pollen
Population genetics
Quaternary
Reviews
Time
Trees
Trees - genetics
Trees - growth & development
USA
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Summary:Tree taxa shifted latitude or elevation range in response to changes in Quaternary climate. Because many modern trees display adaptive differentiation in relation to latitude or elevation, it is likely that ancient trees were also so differentiated, with environmental sensitivities of populations throughout the range evolving in conjunction with migrations. Rapid climate changes challenge this process by imposing stronger selection and by distancing populations from environments to which they are adapted. The unprecedented rates of climate changes anticipated to occur in the future, coupled with land use changes that impede gene flow, can be expected to disrupt the interplay of adaptation and migration, likely affecting productivity and threatening the persistence of many species.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.292.5517.673