Effects of global change on population dynamics of montane animals

Abstract

Mountains cover 27% of land area and occur in most terrestrial biomes. They hold a high proportion of endemic and cold-associated species, and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. However, despite of their rugged relief, mountain areas are not free from the impact from global change, which has affected animal population dynamics, including range retractions that have increased extinction risk. Furthermore, there are a wide range of biological responses due to the effects of extrinsic (environmental) and intrinsic factors on populations. Here, I review the existing evidence on impacts from climate and land-use changes on montane animal populations. I (1) summarise the temporal trends of climate and land-use, particularly over the elevational range; (2) describe the data types available; (3) summarise the patterns found according to the information analysed, and the potential explanatory mechanisms; and (4) provide some improvements for collecting and interpreting data used for studying the impact of global change on montane populations.