PROJECT SUMMARY
The thermal sensitivity of performance traits enables the modelling of fitness of organisms in current and future warming scenarios. This project aims to test the extent to which descriptors of Thermal Performance Curves (TPCs) match among different traits of individuals, within species over time through ontogeny, and among species. The data will then be incorporated with body and microclimate temperatures measured in the field to estimate realized fitness. This work will reveal potential biases that arise when modelling species’ vulnerability to climate change without accounting for these sources of TPC variation. The extent to which this limitation affects the predictions made on species vulnerability to global warming is currently unknown but has the potential to alter current predictions of climate change impacts on biodiversity in South Africa and globally.
PROJECT TITLE
Advancing the thermal performance curve framework to predict species’ responses to climate change
PROJECT LEADER
Susana Clusella-Trullas
AFFILIATION
Department of Botany and Zoology
LINKS
DURATION
2024 – 2026
