Hybrid zones: windows on climate change
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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Façade-Level Monitoring of CO2 Variability under Urban Heat Island Conditions using Low-Cost Sensor Data Loggers
Published on: December 12, 2025
Scott A Taylor1, Erica L Larson2, Richard G Harrison3
1Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA; Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Abstract:
Defining the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on biodiversity and species distributions is currently a high priority. Niche models focus primarily on predicted changes in abiotic factors; however, species interactions and adaptive evolution will impact the ability of species to persist in the face of changing climate. Our review focuses on the use of hybrid zones to monitor responses of species to contemporary climate change. Monitoring hybrid zones provides insight into how range boundaries shift in response to climate change by illuminating the combined effects of species interactions and physiological sensitivity. At the same time, the semipermeable nature of species boundaries allows us to document adaptive introgression of alleles associated with response to climate change.
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