Abstract
Historic approaches to understanding biological responses to climate change have viewed climate as something external that happens to organisms. Organisms, however, at least partially influence their own climate experience by moving within local mosaics of microclimates. Such behaviors are increasingly being incorporated into models of species distributions and climate sensitivity. Less attention has focused on how organisms alter microclimates via extended phenotypes: phenotypes that extend beyond the organismal surface, including structures that are induced or built. We argue that predicting the consequences of climate change for organismal performance and fitness will depend on understanding the expression and consequences of extended phenotypes, the microclimatic niches they generate, and the power of plasticity and evolution to shape those niches.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 889-898 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Trends in Ecology and Evolution |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2021 |
Funding
Thanks to Jackson Birrell, Zac Cheviron, James Frakes, Marty Martin, Tom Martin, David McDonald, Kate Wilsterman, and the evolutionary physiology reading group at the University of Montana for discussion and critical comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We also thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that substantially clarified the manuscript. No interests are declared.
Keywords
- adaptation
- climate change
- ecosystem engineer
- environmental stress
- microclimate
- niche construction
