Faster poleward range shifts in moths with more variable colour patterns.

ABSTRACT: Range shifts have been documented in many organisms, and climate change has been implicated as a contributing driver of latitudinal and altitudinal range modifications. However, little is known about what species trait(s) allow for faster environmental tracking and improved capacity for distribution expansions. We used data for 416 species of moths, and show that range limits in Sweden have shifted to the north by on average 52.4 km per decade between 1973 and 2014. When also including non-expanding species, average expansion rate was 23.2 km per decade. The rate of boundary shifts increased with increasing levels of inter-individual variation in colour patterns and decreased with increasing latitude. The association with colour patterns indicate that variation in this functionally importa

SUBMITTER: Forsman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5093557 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature