Assisted colonization
Note: This page links to an eclectic selection of articles on the issue of “Assisted Colonization,” also called “Assisted Migration.” Searches for many of these articles on Google Scholar will lead to many more citations (use the “Cited by” link at the bottom of each blurb).

• Marris, Emma. 2008. Moving on assisted migration. Nature Reports Climate Change 2: 112-113.
• Keim, Brandon. 2008. Last-ditch resort: Move polar bears to Antarctica? Wired. 17 July.
• Hoegh-Guldberg, O., L. Hughes, S. McIntyre, D. B. Lindenmayer, C. Parmesan, H. P. Possingham, and C. D. Thomas. 2008. Assisted Colonization and Rapid Climate Change. Science 321, no. 5887: 345-346.
• Malcolm L. Hunter, Jr. 2007. Climate change and moving species: Furthering the debate on assisted colonization. Conservation Biology 21, no. 5: 1356-1358.
• Zimmer, Carl. 2007. A radical step to preserve a species: Assisted migration. New York Times, January 23.
• Mclachlan, Jason S., Jessica J. Hellmann, and Mark W. Schwartz. 2007. A framework for debate of assisted migration in an era of climate change. Conservation Biology 21, no. 2: 297-302.
• Williams, John W., Stephen T. Jackson, and John E. Kutzbach. 2007. Projected distributions of novel and disappearing climates by 2100 AD. PNAS 104, no. 14: 5738-5742.
• Abstract: Key risks associated with projected climate trends for the 21st century include the prospects of future climate states with no current analog and the disappearance of some extant climates. Because climate is a primary control on species distributions and ecosystem processes, novel 21st-century climates may promote formation of novel species associations and other ecological surprises, whereas the disappearance of some extant climates increases risk of extinction for species with narrow geographic or climatic distributions and disruption of existing communities. Here we analyze multimodel ensembles for the A2 and B1 emission scenarios produced for the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with the goal of identifying regions projected to experience (i) high magnitudes of local climate change, (ii) development of novel 21st-century climates, and/or (iii) the disappearance of extant climates. Novel climates are projected to develop primarily in the tropics and subtropics, whereas disappearing climates are concentrated in tropical montane regions and the poleward portions of continents. Under the high-end A2 scenario, 12-39% and 10-48% of the Earth's terrestrial surface may respectively experience novel and disappearing climates by 2100 AD. Corresponding projections for the low-end B1 scenario are 4-20% and 4-20%. Dispersal limitations increase the risk that species will experience the loss of extant climates or the occurrence of novel climates. There is a close correspondence between regions with globally disappearing climates and previously identified biodiversity hotspots; for these regions, standard conservation solutions (e.g., assisted migration and networked reserves) may be insufficient to preserve biodiversity.