That species need space is a well-established theory in ecology and marks a cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. The location of conditions that are climatically suitable for species, the climatic space, shifts as climate changes, and species should move their ranges with it. However, the climatic space does not exist only in the geographical dimension, but also in the temporal dimension of seasons of the year. In my project ResponsAbility at the Finnish Environment Institute, I choose a novel approach by treating the range and phenology shifts as analogues to enable their simultaneous study using spatial ecological methods. I account for the complicating role of habitat decline, photoperiod, and short-term climate variability, which can all affect species abilities to respond. With high-quality data on moths, butterflies, and birds in Fennoscandia I increase our understanding of species' need and ability to shift across space and in seasonal time.

2024

2028