Florian Hartig Theoretical Ecology & Ecological Data Science

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Intraspecific trait variation across scales: implications for understanding global change responses

Emily V. Moran, Florian Hartig, David M. Bell

Global Change Biology, 22(1), 137–150 (2016)
Cite this
@article{moran2016intraspecific,
  author = {Emily V. Moran and Florian Hartig and David M. Bell},
  title = {Intraspecific trait variation across scales: implications for understanding global change responses},
  journal = {Global Change Biology},
  volume = {22},
  number = {1},
  pages = {137–150},
  year = {2016},
  doi = {10.1111/gcb.13000},
}

DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13000
Cited by 425 (Google Scholar) · 357 (OpenAlex), as of 07 September 2026

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Abstract

Recognition of the importance of intraspecific variation in ecological processes has been growing, but empirical studies and models of global change have only begun to address this issue in detail. This review discusses sources and patterns of intraspecific trait variation and their consequences for understanding how ecological processes and patterns will respond to global change. We examine how current ecological models and theories incorporate intraspecific variation, review existing data sources that could help parameterize models that account for intraspecific variation in global change predictions, and discuss new data that may be needed. We provide guidelines on when it is most important to consider intraspecific variation, such as when trait variation is heritable or when nonlinear relationships are involved, and argue that many common modeling approaches such as matrix population models or global dynamic vegetation models can allow a stronger consideration of intraspecific trait variation if the necessary data are available. We recommend that existing data need to be made more accessible, though in some cases, new experiments are needed to disentangle causes of variation.

What the paper shows and why it matters (AI-generated)

Most global-change models still treat a species as a single point in trait space, even though variation within a species — driven by genetics, plasticity or ontogeny — can be just as consequential as variation between species. This review works out when that simplification actually matters most: when traits are heritable, or when the underlying relationships are nonlinear, and identifies concrete data sources that could let matrix population models and dynamic vegetation models incorporate it. Nearly a decade on, that argument has become foundational to trait-based global-change ecology, with over 350 citing papers on individualised niches, adaptive growth and trait-structured population dynamics.