Predicting species distribution and abundance responses to climate change: why it is essential to include biotic interactions across trophic levels

Current predictions on species responses to climate change strongly rely on projecting altered environmental conditions on species distributions. However, it is increasingly acknowledged that climate change also influences species interactions. We review and synthesize literature information on biotic interactions and use it to argue that the abundance of species and the direction of selection during climate change vary depending on how their trophic interactions become disrupted. Plant abundance can be controlled by aboveground and belowground multitrophic level interactions with herbivores, pathogens, symbionts and their enemies. We discuss how these interactions may alter during climate change and the…

• ES
  Ecological Society of America
• NI
  Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie
• BE
  British Ecological Society
• IC
  Imperial College London
• KN
  Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen
• NO
  Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek