There’s no denying that global warming will impose massive changes on the environment. But a recent paper suggests that the models ecologists typically use to assess the effects of environmental changes may be neglecting a key factor: The ability of organisms to adapt to the environment. What are the implications of incorporating the capacity for species to change when assessing the impact of global warming and other ecological change?
As we do each week, Kevin Zelnio, Razib Khan, and I have chosen a journal article to discuss in podcast form. We make sure it’s an article that we or someone else has covered on their blog, so ideally, you’ll read the blog post first to get a general understanding of the research, then listen to our podcast to hear our impressions. Here’s the article we’re discussing this week:
Chevin, L., Lande, R., & Mace, G. (2010). Adaptation, Plasticity, and Extinction in a Changing Environment: Towards a Predictive Theory PLoS Biology, 8 (4) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000357
The article was blogged by Razib on Gene Expression:
Since this remains an experimental project, we’d appreciate any feedback you can offer on the podcast.
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