A reading that shows that climate change can be a selective pressure in natural selection. It explains how the selection of a character that provides an adaptive advantage in a changed environment, leads to the ‘evolutionary rescue’ of a species.
Students will learn about Snowshoe hares in North America and how reduced snowfall due to a warming climate, behaves as a selective pressure on their seasonal coat colour polymorphism. Students will learn how such evolutionary hotspots are made due to climate change.
Use this tool to help students find answers to:
- Why is genetic variation critical to the survival of a species?
- How does natural selection play a role in the evolutionary rescue of a species, that would otherwise be endangered due to climate change?
About the Tool
Tool Name | Research identifies areas where evolution could rescue animals threatened by climate change |
Discipline | Biological Sciences |
Topic(s) in Discipline | Natural Selection, Selective Pressure, Evolution, Speciation, Evolutionary Hotspots, Genetic Polymorphism, Genetic Variants, Adaptive Advantage |
Climate Topic | Climate and the Biosphere |
Type of Tool | Reading |
Grade Level | High school, Undergraduate |
Location | North America |
Language | English |
Translation | |
Developed by | L. Scott Mills, Mills Lab, University of Montana |
Hosted at | University of Montana |
Link | http://www.umt.edu/research/millslab/stories/Science%20Paper.php |
Access | Online |
Computer Skills | Basic |

Brown and white snowshoe hares
Image credit:
(L.S. Mills research photos by Jaco and Lindsey Barnard)