Skip to main content
Dryad

Data from: What is an elevational range?

Linck, Ethan1

Published Aug 09, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ht76hdrr1

Data files

Aug 09, 2025 version files 358.05 MB

Click names to download individual files

Abstract

Elevational distributions have long fascinated scientists, an interest that has burgeoned with studies of predicted upslope range shifts under climate change. However, this body of work has yielded conflicting results, perhaps due to varied conceptual and statistical approaches. Here, I explore how ecological processes and researcher decisions shape the patterns characterized by elevational ranges. I use community science data to illustrate 1) that elevational ranges include variation in abundance; 2) that elevational ranges are usually estimated, not observed directly; 3) that elevational ranges are dynamic across short distances and time intervals; and 4) that how we describe elevational ranges has consequences for inference of range shifts. I present a conceptual framework for understanding elevational ranges across multiple spatial scales, and propose elevational distributions are governed by scale-dependent processes. This hypothesis implies accurately quantifying elevational ranges and learning how they are formed or maintained requires matching questions to an appropriate scale domain. I provide a list of best practices for studying elevational ranges, and highlight promising directions for future research into these complex phenomena.