Climate change is increasingly altering species’ ranges and distributions as non-native species spread to new communities. Such range shifts help species persist through climatic changes, and there is a strong push in the conservation and climate change adaptation community to prevent barriers to species’ natural range shifts, which are seen as overwhelmingly beneficial in the context of climate change. However, with the exception of problematic species, few studies have assessed the impacts that range-shifting species may have as they establish in new communities, especially broader community and ecosystem ecological impacts. Here, we leverage our knowledge of biological invasions to assess the likelihood of a range-shifting species to cause negative impacts.
Results/Conclusions
Invasion risk assessments are based on the factors that influence the invasion process, including transport, establishment, population growth, spread, and impact. Some of these same components pertain to risks of range-shifting species, and we suggest leveraging invasion ecology theory and management tools such as the IUCN’s Environmental Impact Classification of Alien Taxa (EICAT) to prioritize and assess the risks associated with range-shifting species. Similarly, increasing habitat connectivity must be based on analyses of donor and recipient communities with a focus on providing connectivity for high priority, low risk nearby-natives. As species shift to track a changing climate, we have a unique opportunity to facilitate advantageous, and discourage potentially problematic, movement of species in real time.