Meeting Abstract
Understanding how climate affects species is a long-standing question in ecology. On an individual level, an organism directly interacts with the microclimate, which is modulated by the vegetative structure. Ultimately, this interaction is governed by an organism’s physiology, but behavior can moderate these interactions. We used an individual based modeling (IBM) approach incorporating biophysical models to explore the interactions of vegetative structure and behavior on an organism’s physiological interactions with climate using woodland salamanders (genus Plethodon) as a model organism. The IBM was simulated using four different scenarios across the same area of Southern Appalachia, where steep rainfall gradients naturally exist. We estimated salamander activity time for a climate only model (baseline), a model including vegetative heterogeneity (presence of midstory canopy plants across half of the area), a model including the ability to climb plants (a potential behavioral strategy to improve foraging ability), and a model including both midstory plants and behavior. The simulations suggested increased potential activity time with the inclusion of vegetative structure and behavior, which moderates the impact of rainfall gradients. This effect was most pronounced for behavioral models and juvenile and hatchling salamanders. The increases in foraging time primarily occurred in the fall. Future climate change models should consider the moderating influences of vegetative structure and behavior on species responses to climate change.
