BIOSHIFTS

Global redistribution of biodiversity: A macro- and eco-evolutionary approach to understand species vulnerability to global changes

© Gaël GRENOUILLET

It is now indisputable that plants and animals are responding to climate change by undergoing the largest redistribution of life on Earth for tens of thousands of years. Yet, recent studies have found that species range shifts are highly idiosyncratic and that climate warming alone is unlikely to explain the rates of biodiversity redistribution. Whereas intrinsic species traits (e.g., thermal tolerance, dispersal ability, ecological specialization) and evolutionary mechanisms (e.g., adaptive potential) are expected to influence both trailing‐edge contractions and leading‐edge expansions, other extrinsic non‐climatic factors (e.g., habitat fragmentation, human pressures) may also constrain or exacerbate range shift processes. 

BIOSHIFTS will  fill  this  knowledge  gap  by  addressing  the  fundamental  question of  how contemporary climate‐driven range shifts arise from the interplay of intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms. BIOSHIFTS will  upgrade,  build  upon,  and  leverage  the  power of a  comprehensive  geo‐database compiling  range  shifts  documented  in  marine,  freshwater and  terrestrial  ecosystems  over  recent decades,  together  with  open  source  databases  of  species  traits  and  innovative  phylogenetic comparative methods. The project will thereby investigate whether range shift processes vary across ecosystems, taxonomic groups, or environmental contexts (both natural and anthropogenic).

BIOSHIFTS aims to both synthesize and extend the conceptual and analytical tools in range shift research, thus advancing a predictive science seeking to improve our ability to forecast further biodiversity loss and inform better decision-making processes.