The reality of climate change poses a significant threat to global biodiversity. As temperatures rise, the survival of individual species will ultimately depend on their ability to adapt to changes in habitat and their interactions with other species.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences examines movement of the Eastern (Papilio glaucus) and Canadian (Papilio Canadensis) tiger swallowtail butterfly over a 32-year period within the geographic region where the two species mate, called the hybrid zone. The findings highlight the impact of changing climates and provide critical information for the protection and management of biodiversity.
Researchers from the Environmental Change Initiative at the University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota warn climate change can not only influence the geographic distribution of a species in response to changing conditions — it could also affect the evolutionary trajectories of interbreeding species.
“Climate change can alter the patterns of gene flow and change the interaction between species,” said Michael Pfrender, a co-author on the study, director of the Genomics and Bioinformatics Core Facility at Notre Dame and associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. “Changes in gene flow not only impact the fitness and survival of each species individually, but it can alter their genetic composition — what makes them distinct in the first place. If climate change results in a decrease of connectivity between the two species, they may become more distinct, and potentially useful genetic material will not move across the species boundaries.”
Read more at University of Notre Dame
Image: Researchers warn climate change can not only influence the geographic distribution of a species in response to changing conditions -- it could also affect the evolutionary trajectories of interbreeding species. (Credit: Sean Ryan)
