661152 external_news 1663090493 1663090493 From bears to moose to lynx, and even squirrels and frogs, animals are leaving their homes in search of cooler climates as the planet warms. In fact, roughly half of the world’s 4,000 species are on the move, with many migrating northwards towards higher latitudes. For ecologists and conservationists, understanding how these species’ viable habitats expand and contract in the context of a rapidly shifting climate is critical. But current models can produce inaccurate, and overly optimistic results, because they fail to consider a key question: can a species realistically reach a suitable climate before it’s too late? A new computer modeling tool, MegaSDM, may help. It includes research from Jenny McGuire, assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the School of Biological Sciences, and Ben Shipley, Ph.D. candidate in the School of Biological Sciences, and it's the first modeling tool that considers dispersal limits for many species, climate models, and time periods at once.

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