Untapped potential of physiology, behaviour and immune markers to predict range dynamics and marginality

Abstract

One in five vertebrate species is classified by the IUCN as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered (Hoffmann et al., 2010). These declines and losses are largely attributed to anthropocentric changes in the environment such as land conversion, climate change, and unsustainable natural resource harvesting and extraction (Brook et al., 2008).Ultimately, range contraction and biodiversity loss are the end product of extrinsic or intrinsic challenges leading to population decline, emigration, and local extirpation. Across a species' range, populations occur

A grazer's niche edge is associated with increasing diet diversity and poor population performance

“…This is particularly true for Endangered and Critically endangered species. We strongly recommend incorporating marginality metrics into conservation management by estimating their relative position of PAs or reintroduction sites to a species historic niche centroid or by comparing core and peripheral protected populations (Shultz et al, 2021).…”

“…abundance, Fristoe et al, 2023;density;Osorio-Olvera et al, Osorio-Olvera, Yañez-Arenas, et al, 2020;performance trends, Manthey et al, 2015), they do not identify which factors contribute to fitness declines across the core-periphery gradient or whether distributional limits are set by environmental factors directly or indirectly (Sexton et al, 2009). Novel experimental techniques such as diet DNA metabarcoding can evaluate resource-use across large spatial scales non-invasively (Shultz et al, 2021). By combining these approaches, we can better understand which factors contribute to fitness declines in niche peripheries by tying limiting factors and performance variation to the fundamental concept of the species niche (see Maguire, 1973).…”

Macrophysiology for decision‐making

“…Frequently, components I and IV are investigated together, such as considering the ecological implications of thermal safety margins, with less of a focus on components II and III . For comprehensive understanding and projections of system change, however, the full suite of components is optimal (Ames et al., 2020; Lea et al., 2018; Shultz et al., 2021), especially to avoid errors of interpretation (Mitchell et al., 2018). For example, understanding the mechanisms that give rise to macrophysiological patterns requires an exploration of the evolution of traits and their plasticity, including any constraints to the evolution of both and their interactions with particular components of the phenotype such as behaviour (Clusella‐Trullas et al., 2021; Kingsolver et al., 2013; Sgrò et al., 2016).…”