A new paper, led by CSP Lead Scientist, Dr. Lise Comte, anticipates that climate-mediated shifts in species distributions are reshaping ecosystems worldwide, creating major challenges for conservation and resource management. These range shifts have far-reaching ecological and socio-economic consequences, requiring managers to address complex ecological dynamics while navigating diverse regulatory and value systems. Drawing from a workshop of experts convened by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Climate Adaptation Science Center for the “Future of Range Shifts” Climate Adaptation Postdoctoral (CAP) Fellows program, this synthesis article discusses key areas of scientific research that would improve the management of climate-mediated range shifts.
As this synthesis shows, key unknowns remain around range-shift mechanisms, the effectiveness of climate adaptation strategies, and the tools needed to support decision-making in species redistribution management. These gaps call not for inaction but for enhanced research across disciplines. A central challenge is scaling range-shift processes across space, time, and ecological levels, while reconciling mismatches between management and biogeographical scales. Progress also requires richer datasets to track shifts and evaluate outcomes across taxa and regions, better coordination among government, agencies, and private organizations, and the integration of diverse knowledge sources—bridging ecological and social science and drawing on decision-analytical frameworks to weigh management options across scenarios.
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Comte, L., Weiskopf, S., Thompson, L., Valler, J., Rubenstein, M., O’Hara, C., Bamzai-Dodson, A., Lynch, A., Clark-Wolf, T. J., Couriot, O., Dobrowski, S., Figueroa, L., Filippelli, G., Johnson, H., Krosby, M., Lawler, J., Moeller, D., Parks, S., Parsons, E., Ross, J., Scheffers, B., Sofaer, H., Stuber, E., & Carter, S. (2026). At the Leading Edge: Advancing and Bridging the Science and Management of Range-Shifting Species. BioScience. https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biag088