The Relationship Between Environmental Change and Species Adaptation

Abstract

Environmental conditions influence where species can survive, how organisms grow and reproduce, and how populations interact with one another. Changes in temperature, precipitation, habitat structure, resource availability, pollution, and other environmental factors can create new selection pressures. Species may respond through phenotypic plasticity, behavioral changes, physiological acclimation, changes in geographic distribution, or evolutionary adaptation based on heritable genetic variation. However, the capacity for adaptation differs among species and depends on generation time, genetic diversity, population size, dispersal ability, and the speed and magnitude of environmental change. This paper examines nine major dimensions of the relationship between environmental change and species adaptation, including natural selection, phenotypic plasticity, genetic variation, climate change, habitat change, species interactions, range shifts, adaptation limits, and conservation strategies.