scholarly journals Diversity and species turnover on an altitudinal gradient in Western Cape, South Africa: baseline data for monitoring range shifts in response to climate change

Bothalia ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Agenbag ◽  
K. J. Elser ◽  
G. F. Midgley ◽  
C. Boucher
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Growth Form ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Moisture Gradient ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Succulent Karoo ◽  
Species Ranges

A temperature and moisture gradient on the equator-facing slope of Jonaskop on the Riviersonderend Mountain. Westem Cape has been selected as an important gradient for monitoring the effects of climate change on fynbos and the Fynbos- Succulent Karoo ecotone. This study provides a description of plant diversity patterns, growth form composition and species turnover across the gradient and the results of four years of climate monitoring at selected points along the altitudinal gradient.The aim o f this study is to provide data for a focused monitoring strategy for the early detection of climate change-related shifts in species’ ranges, as well as gaining a better understanding of the role of climate variability in shaping species growth responses, their distributions, and other ecosystem processes.

scholarly journals Understanding interactions between plasticity, adaptation and range shifts in response to marine environmental change

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1768) ◽  
pp. 20180186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Donelson ◽  
Jennifer M. Sunday ◽  
Will F. Figueira ◽  
Juan Diego Gaitán-Espitia ◽  
Alistair J. Hobday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Supporting Evidence ◽  
Marine Environmental ◽  
Rapid Environmental Change

Climate change is leading to shifts in species geographical distributions, but populations are also probably adapting to environmental change at different rates across their range. Owing to a lack of natural and empirical data on the influence of phenotypic adaptation on range shifts of marine species, we provide a general conceptual model for understanding population responses to climate change that incorporates plasticity and adaptation to environmental change in marine ecosystems. We use this conceptual model to help inform where within the geographical range each mechanism will probably operate most strongly and explore the supporting evidence in species. We then expand the discussion from a single-species perspective to community-level responses and use the conceptual model to visualize and guide research into the important yet poorly understood processes of plasticity and adaptation.This article is part of the theme issue ‘The role of plasticity in phenotypic adaptation to rapid environmental change’.

scholarly journals Conditions for successful range shifts under climate change: The role of species dispersal and landscape configuration

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1598-1611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonatan Årevall ◽  
Regan Early ◽  
Alba Estrada ◽  
Uno Wennergren ◽  
Anna C. Eklöf
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Landscape Configuration ◽  
Species Dispersal

Indigenous Ecological Reconstruction After Industrial Ruin in Two Iconic Sámi Catchments: Ethics of Comanagement?

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-275
Author(s):  
Tero Mustonen
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Algae Blooms ◽  
European North ◽  
Ecological Reconstruction

The applicability of Indigenous ethics to the evaluation of ecological restoration is explored through two case examples involving the Indigenous Sámi rivers of Näätämö and Ponoi in the European North. Six key restoration approaches are described that would have been overlooked had it not been for the use of Indigenous ethics from the start of the work. The detection of rapidly proceeding climate change impacts and species range shifts, algae blooms, documentation of gendered coastal lifestyles, and ultimately the ecological restoration of salmonid habitats were recognized as critical markers of success when these approaches were practiced, lived and cherished by all members of the cogovernance community. This article asks critical questions about the role of Indigenous knowledge and rights within comanagement and environmental evaluations and makes the case for land-based lifestyles as vehicles for maintaining distinct, culturally relevant ethics processes.

scholarly journals The distribution of the dwarf succulent genus Conophytum N.E.Br. (Aizoaceae) in southern Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Young ◽  
Philip G. Desmet
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Cape Floristic Region ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Succulent Karoo ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Region

Background: The dwarf succulent genus Conophytum N.E.Br. is one of the most species rich in the Aizoceae. The genus is most closely associated with a region of high floral endemism and biodiversity, the Succulent Karoo biome in south-western Africa.Objectives: To examine the distribution of Conophytum in south-western Namibia and in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa.Method: A database comprising 2798 locality records representing all known species and subspecies of the genus Conophytum has been constructed.Results: The genus is primarily restricted to the arid winter-rainfall region of the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa and south-western Namibia, within the Greater Cape Floristic Region. Whilst taxa are found across all the main biomes in the region (the Succulent Karoo, Nama Karoo, Desert and Fynbos biomes), 94% of Conophytum taxa are found only in the Succulent Karoo biome and predominantly (88% of taxa) within South Africa. Endemism within specific bioregions is a feature of the genus and ~60% of taxa are endemic to the Succulent Karoo. Approximately 28% of all taxa could be considered point endemics. Whilst the genus has a relatively wide geographical range, we identify a pronounced centre of endemism in the southern Richtersveld.Conclusion: The genus Conophytum can be used as a good botanical model for studying patterns of diversity and speciation in the Succulent Karoo biome, the effects of climate change on dwarf succulents, and for informing conservation planning efforts.

Range shifts under climate change and the role of protected areas for armadillos and anteaters

2012 ◽  
Vol 152 ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bárbara Q.C. Zimbres ◽  
Pedro De Podestà Uchôa de Aquino ◽  
Ricardo B. Machado ◽  
Leandro Silveira ◽  
Anah T.A. Jácomo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Range Shifts

scholarly journals Planktivorous fish in a future Arctic Ocean of changing ice and unchanged photoperiod

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 2312-2318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stein Kaartvedt ◽  
Josefin Titelman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Mesopelagic Fish ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Northward Expansion ◽  
Distribution Of Fish

Abstract Climate change drives fish and plankton species ranges toward the poles, often related to warmer waters mediating geographic distributions via changes in vital rates. Yet, the distribution of fish may also be governed by less acknowledged mechanisms. Ice limits access to air for physostomous fish filling their swimbladders at the surface. We hypothesize that release of ice constraints may facilitate northward expansion of physostomes, with implied impact on their zooplankton prey. On the other hand, even in a changing Arctic, the extreme high-latitude photoperiod will persist. The abundance of mesopelagic fish is low in the Arctic Ocean. Feeding conditions may be inferior during the darkness of winter and in light summer nights. If the photoperiod is constraining distributions, biogeographic boundaries of mesopelagic fish may be relatively unaffected by climate change. Alternatively, if low temperatures are their main constraint, we hypothesize that northward extensions in a warmer ocean may be detrimental to key Arctic copepods as we argue that their current success relates to low mortality during overwintering in the absence of mesopelagic fish. It is therefore essential to discriminate the role of the light climate at high latitudes from those related to temperatures for assessing future biogeographic boundaries.

scholarly journals Climate-Driven Shifts in Marine Species Ranges: Scaling from Organisms to Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin L. Pinsky ◽  
Rebecca L. Selden ◽  
Zoë J. Kitchel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Additional Research ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Changing Climate

The geographic distributions of marine species are changing rapidly, with leading range edges following climate poleward, deeper, and in other directions and trailing range edges often contracting in similar directions. These shifts have their roots in fine-scale interactions between organisms and their environment—including mosaics and gradients of temperature and oxygen—mediated by physiology, behavior, evolution, dispersal, and species interactions. These shifts reassemble food webs and can have dramatic consequences. Compared with species on land, marine species are more sensitive to changing climate but have a greater capacity for colonization. These differences suggest that species cope with climate change at different spatial scales in the two realms and that range shifts across wide spatial scales are a key mechanism at sea. Additional research is needed to understand how processes interact to promote or constrain range shifts, how the dominant responses vary among species, and how the emergent communities of the future ocean will function.

scholarly journals Evolutionary traps and range shifts in a rapidly changing world

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 20160003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Hale ◽  
John R. Morrongiello ◽  
Stephen E. Swearer
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Population Persistence ◽  
Range Shifts ◽  
Developmental Pathways ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
Fitness Consequences ◽  
Changing World

Humans are altering the environment at an unprecedented rate. Although behavioural plasticity has allowed many species to respond by shifting their ranges to more favourable conditions, these rapid environmental changes may cause ‘evolutionary traps’, whereby animals mistakenly prefer resources that reduce their fitness. The role of evolutionary traps in influencing the fitness consequences of range shifts remains largely unexplored. Here, we review these interactions by considering how climate change may trigger maladaptive developmental pathways or increase the probability of animals encountering traps. We highlight how traps could selectively remove some phenotypes and compromise population persistence. We conclude by highlighting emerging areas of research that would improve our understanding of when interactions between evolutionary traps and range shifts are likely to be most detrimental to animals.

scholarly journals Combining floristic and growth form composition in a gradient- directed vegetation survey of Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-173
Author(s):  
R. G. Lechmere-Oertel ◽  
R. M. Cowling
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Growth Form ◽  
Nature Reserve ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Vegetation Distribution ◽  
Vegetation Survey ◽  
Succulent Karoo ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Aridity Gradient

The floristically complex vegetation of Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve (MNR). which spans the ecotone between the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo Biomes in the eastern Cederberg Mountains, Western Cape, was surveyed using a gradient-directed transect (gradsect). The gradsect was aligned with a topo-ciimatic aridity gradient across MNR. The vegetation was classified using TWINSPAN. based on a combination of floristic and growth form characteristics, and an understanding of the main ecological gradients controlling vegetation distribution. The final classification described seven robust and eco­logically meaningful communities that represented a trade-off between statistical rigour and practicality for management. The seven communities were mapped using a geographical information system (GIS).

Sensitivity of river fishes to climate change: The role of hydrological stressors on habitat range shifts

2016 ◽  
Vol 562 ◽  
pp. 435-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Segurado ◽  
Paulo Branco ◽  
Eduardo Jauch ◽  
Ramiro Neves ◽  
M. Teresa Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Range Shifts
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