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The Influence Of Traits On Species Responses To Climate Change: Does Warming Negatively Impact Native Species More Than Invasive Species?, Margaret Anne Mamantov

Doctoral Dissertations

Current climate change is increasing global temperatures so that many organisms are now experiencing temperatures outside of their thermal tolerance, which threatens their survival. Organisms respond to physiologically stressful temperatures to reduce this threat. Organisms respond to warming through three main mechanisms: range shifts, adjustments via phenotypic plasticity, and evolutionary adaptation. Organisms vary in their ability to utilize these three mechanisms, leading to differences in the magnitude and success of their adjustments to temperature change. Here, I examine how organismal traits influence variation in species response to climate change. Chapter one addresses how physiological tolerance may influence the rate of …