sRED

The Range Edge Dynamics (RED) Working Group

First meeting: 05.05. – 09.05.2025

PIs:

Jean-Philippe Lessard
Katie Marshall

iDiv member:

Chloé Schmidt
Michael Gerth
Juan Carvajal Quintero

Project summary:

Predicting whether species ranges will expand or contract is a crucial part of managing biodiversity in a changing world. It is nevertheless surprising that scientists have such a rudimentary understanding of processes involved in range dynamics and in setting and maintaining range limits. Perhaps the slow progress made toward understanding and predicting range dynamics results from scientists with different expertise working in isolation. Only the integration of concepts and approaches in ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology and genetics can lead to major advances. Our multidisciplinary working group will aim to advance theory and perform empirical test related to A) the role of phenotypic plasticity in setting range limits B) the influence of thermal plasticity and trophic interactions on range dynamics (contraction, stability, expansion) and C) the demographic consequences of range expansion. To achieve this, the group will develop conceptual frameworks, perform literature and data synthesis, and complement existing datasets.

In person participants: 

Jonathan Belmaker (Tel Aviv University), Joey Bernhardt (University of Guelph), Michael Borregaard (Copenhagen University), Juan Carvajal-Quintero (Dalhousie University), Shahar Chaikin (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales – CSIC), Susana Clusella Trullas (Stellenbosch University), Emily Dovydaitis (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)), Colin Garroway (University of Manitoba), Michael Gerth (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)), Dan Bez Golanski (Tel Aviv University), Catherine Graham (WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF), Anne-Céline Granjon (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)), Jean-Philippe Lessard (Concordia University), Emma-Liina Marjakangas (Aarhus University), Katie Marshall (University of British Columbia), Mathias Pires (Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP)), Chloe Schmidt (Dalhousie University), Takuji Usui (University of Toronto)

Second Meeting: 18.05 – 22.05.2026