Identifying the mechanisms underlying the changes in the distribution of species is critical to accurately predict how species have responded and will respond to climate change. Here, we take advantage of a late‐1950s study on ant assemblages in a canyon near Boulder, Colorado, USA, to understand how and why species distributions have changed over a 60‐year period. Community composition changed over 60 years with increasing compositional similarity among ant assemblages. Community composition differed significantly between the periods, with aspect and tree cover influencing composition. Species that foraged in broader temperature ranges became more widespread over the 60‐year period. Our work highlights that shifts in community composition and biotic homogenization can occur even in undisturbed areas without strong habitat degradation. We also show the power of pairing historical and contemporary data and encourage more mechanistic studies to predict species changes under climate change.

中文翻译：

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山地生态系统中蚂蚁群落 60 年来温度驱动的均质化


确定物种分布变化的潜在机制对于准确预测物种如何应对以及将如何应对气候变化至关重要。在此，我们利用 20 世纪 50 年代末对美国科罗拉多州博尔德附近峡谷中的蚂蚁群落进行的研究，来了解 60 年来物种分布如何以及为何发生变化。 60 年来，随着蚂蚁群落组成的相似性不断增加，群落组成发生了变化。不同时期的群落组成存在显着差异，坡向和树木覆盖影响组成。在这 60 年间，在更宽的温度范围内觅食的物种变得更加普遍。我们的工作强调，即使在没有严重栖息地退化的未受干扰的地区，群落组成和生物同质化也可能发生变化。我们还展示了将历史数据和当代数据结合起来的力量，并鼓励更多的机制研究来预测气候变化下的物种变化。