Linking individual animal behavior to species range shifts under climate change

Climate change has led animal species to shift their ranges to greater elevations, latitudes, and depths, tracking their preferred abiotic niche. However, there is extensive variation in these shifts, and some species have not shifted their ranges at all. Some of this variation arises because species' distributions not only align with the abiotic environment but are also shaped by biotic factors and movement. Through facilitating rapid adaptive responses to climate-mediated changes to abiotic, biotic, and movement factors, behavioral plasticity allows populations to survive environmental change by persisting in place, while also enabling successful establishment in novel habitats when shifting in space.