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Climate is an important limiting factor of species' niches and it is therefore regularly included in ecological applications such as species distribution models (SDMs). Climate predictors are often used in the form of long-term mean values, yet many species experience wide climatic variation over their lifespan and within their geographical range which is unlikely captured by long-term means. Further, depending on their physiology, distinct groups of species cope with climate variability differently. Ectothermic species, which are directly dependent on the thermal environment are expected to show a different response to temporal or spatial variability in temperature than endothermic groups that can decouple their internal temperature from that of their surroundings. Here, we explore the degree to which spatial variability and long-term temporal variability in temperature and precipitation change niche estimates for ectothermic (730 amphibian, 1276 reptile), and endothermic (1961 mammal) species globally. We use three different species distribution modelling (SDM) algorithms to quantify the effect of spatial and temporal climate variability, based on global range maps of all species and climate data from 1979 to 2013. All SDMs were cross-validated and accessed for their performance using the Area under the Curve (AUC) and the True Skill Statistic (TSS). The mean performance of SDMs using only climatic means as predictors was TSS = 0.71 and AUC = 0.90. The inclusion of spatial variability offers a significant gain in SDM performance (mean TSS = 0.74, mean AUC = 0.92), as does the inclusion of temporal variability (mean TSS = 0.80, mean AUC = 0.94). Including both spatial and temporal variability in SDMs shows the highest scores in AUC and TSS. Accounting for temporal rather than spatial variability in climate improved the SDM prediction especially in ectotherm groups such as amphibians and reptiles, while for endothermic mammals no such improvement was observed. These results indicate that including long term climate interannual climate variability into niche estimations matters most for ectothermic species that cannot decouple their physiology from the surrounding environment as endothermic species can., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Aim: Climate change is altering habitat suitability for many organisms and modifying species ranges at a global scale. Here we explored the impact of climate change on 112 pine species (Pinus), fundamental elements of Northern terrestrial ecosystems. Location: Global. Methods: We applied a novel methodology for species distribution modelling that considers uncertainty in climatic projections and taxon sampling, and incorporates elements of species' recent evolutionary history. We based our niche calculations on climate and soil data and computed projections across multiple algorithms and IPCC scenarios, which were ensembled into one single suitability map. We then used phylogenetic methods to account for recent evolution in climatic requirements by estimating the evolution of climatic niche. Edaphoclimatic and evolutionary analyses were then combined to calibrate the projections in areas showing high uncertainty. We validated our models using naturalized occurrences of invasive pine species. Results: Our models predicted that by 2070, most pine species (58%) might face important reductions of habitat suitability, potentially leading to range losses and a decrease in species richness, particularly in some regions such as the Mediterranean Basin and South North America, albeit migration might mitigate these shifts in some cases. In contrast, our projections showed increased habitat suitability for approx. 20% of species, which may undergo range expansions under climate change. Moreover, the consideration of recent evolutionary trends modified projected scenarios, decreasing range loss and increasing range expansion for some species. The independent validation endorsed our models for many species and the influence of recent evolution in some cases. Conclusions: We predict that climate change will impose drastic changes in pine distribution and diversity across biogeographical regions, but the magnitude and direction of change will vary significantly across regions and taxa. Species‐level responses are likely to be influenced by regional conditions and the recent evolutionary history of each taxon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific understanding of biodiversity dynamics, resulting from past climate oscillations and projections of future changes in biodiversity, has advanced over the past decade. Little is known about how these responses, past or future, are spatially connected. Analyzing the spatial variability in biodiversity provides insight into how climate change affects the accumulation of diversity across space. Here, we evaluate the spatial variation of phylogenetic diversity of European seed plants among neighboring sites and assess the effects of past rapid climate changes during the Quaternary on these patterns. Our work shows a marked homogenization in phylogenetic diversity across Central and Northern Europe linked to high climate change velocity and large distances to refugia. Our results suggest that the future projected loss in evolutionary heritage may be even more dramatic, as homogenization in response to rapid climate change has occurred among sites across large landscapes, leaving a legacy that has lasted for millennia. How past climate change has affected biodiversity over large spatial scales remains underexplored. Here, the authors find marked homogenization in flowering plant phylogenetic diversity across Central and Northern Europe linked to rapid climate change and large distances to glacial refugia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]