地形变化决定了生物在山区环境中的反应方式

Topography is expected to mediate species’ responses to climate change by providing terrain-driven microclimates that buffer animals from warming, yet how topographic shading drives animal responses to climate change remains poorly understood. Using bioenergetic simulations that incorporate topographic shading to predict the ecological and physiological consequences of climate warming, we show that topographic variation can reduce energy expenditure by as much as 20.8% and increase the buffering benefits of shifting elevation by 82.1% for diurnal ectotherms. In contrast, topographic shading provided little buffering for nocturnal ectotherms. Warming also increased energetic costs most at low elevations, widening elevational differences in energetic costs. Across North America, 48.9% of mountain ranges are depleted in topographic features that buffer the effects of warming, with tectonic history shaping present-day terrain-driven microclimates. Together, our results highlight topographic variation as a critical variable shaping organismal experiences of climate change at both landscape and continental scales. The authors developed simulations to examine the role of topographic variation in mediating species response to climate change. They show that topographic variation can reduce energy expenditure by up to 20.8% and increase buffering benefits of elevation shifts by 82.1% for a diurnal ectotherm.