Journal article
Mechanistic variables can enhance predictive models of endotherm distributions: the American pika under current, past, and future climates
PD Mathewson, L Moyer-Horner, EA Beever, NJ Briscoe, M Kearney, JM Yahn, WP Porter
Global Change Biology | WILEY | Published : 2017
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13454
Abstract
How climate constrains species’ distributions through time and space is an important question in the context of conservation planning for climate change. Despite increasing awareness of the need to incorporate mechanism into species distribution models (SDMs), mechanistic modeling of endotherm distributions remains limited in this literature. Using the American pika (Ochotona princeps) as an example, we present a framework whereby mechanism can be incorporated into endotherm SDMs. Pika distribution has repeatedly been found to be constrained by warm temperatures, so we used Niche Mapper, a mechanistic heat-balance model, to convert macroclimate data to pika-specific surface activity time in ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
We thank Chris Lowrey, Donelle Schwalm, and one anonymous reviewer for insightful reviews that improved this work. We thank Chris Ray, Tom Rodhouse, and Matt Shinderman for sharing data on pika presence locations in lava-dominated landscapes. PDM thanks the UW-Madison Zoology Department for one summer of graduate research funding in support of this work. NJB was supported by NERP Environmental Decisions Hub. Data collection on Great Basin pikas benefited from funding by the Great Basin LCC, Kosciuszko Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.