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Putting plasticity into practice for effective conservation actions under climate change

Nature Climate Change volume 13, pages 632–647 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity may help species to persist in the face of rapid change, yet we lack a management-friendly framework for incorporating plasticity into conservation practice. Here we emphasize the importance of phenotypic plasticity for management—when and how it matters—and describe three challenges that currently impede its consideration in conservation management. We propose a common language and framework that can be applied by scientists and conservation practitioners that connects plasticity to management actions. Crucially, our framework considers plasticity through the lens of an organism’s ‘fit’ to its environment and how that fit will be impacted by climatic changes. Finally, we present a road map for developing tools to highlight where consideration of plasticity is valuable for effective management.

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Fig. 1: The fundamentals of phenotypic plasticity for a species.
Fig. 2: The nature of plasticity matters in response to rapid environmental change.
Fig. 3: Matrix of scenarios based on whether plasticity affected outcomes of conservation activities.

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Acknowledgements

This paper is based on discussions at the 2020 Ecological Adaptation and Plasticity into Practice (EcolAPP) Workshop. We thank our colleagues C. Sgrò, A. Nicotra and R. Incoll for their participation in the workshop and additional helpful contributions. We thank S. Prasad and M. Lee-Abbott of ThinkPlace, Canberra, for their help transforming the workshop into a successful online event in the wake of COVID-19 lockdowns. The EcolAPP Workshop was funded by a Synthesis Group Grant from the Centre for Biodiversity Analysis (CBA) at The Australian National University (to R.J.F.). We also thank C. Stephens of the CBA for administrative support and encouragement of EMCR initiatives. J.M.D. was supported by an ARC Future Fellowship (FT190100015). We thank S. McMahon for helpful feedback on Figs. 1 and 2.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: J. M. Donelson, J. D. Gaitan-Espitia, A. J. Hobday, K. Mokany, R. J. Fox.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    J. M. Donelson

  2. College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia

    J. M. Donelson

  3. The Swire Institute of Marine Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    J. D. Gaitan-Espitia

  4. Institute for Climate & Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    J. D. Gaitan-Espitia

  5. CSIRO Environment, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    A. J. Hobday

  6. CSIRO Environment, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    K. Mokany & S. C. Andrew

  7. Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

    S. Boulter

  8. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

    C. N. Cook

  9. Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    F. Dickson

  10. Parks Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    N. A. Macgregor

  11. Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    N. A. Macgregor

  12. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

    N. J. Mitchell

  13. Greening Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

    M. Pickup

  14. Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

    R. J. Fox

Authors
  1. J. M. Donelson
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  2. J. D. Gaitan-Espitia
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  3. A. J. Hobday
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  4. K. Mokany
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  9. N. A. Macgregor
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  10. N. J. Mitchell
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  11. M. Pickup
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  12. R. J. Fox
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Correspondence to J. M. Donelson.

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Donelson, J.M., Gaitan-Espitia, J.D., Hobday, A.J. et al. Putting plasticity into practice for effective conservation actions under climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. 13, 632–647 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-023-01706-4

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