Why do some range shifts succeed while others ended in a fiasco?

Anthropogenic disturbances and climate changes can lead to rapid population declines, shifted geographic distributions, or adaptation to new conditions. The drivers and implications of this disparity in species’ responses remain puzzling. We explore the evolutionary mechanisms underlying range shifts by contrasting naturally replicated dispersal events in a marine snail. We leverage multidimensional information from whole genomes including chromosomal structural variants, phenotypic traits, and local habitats to clarify why some range shifts succeeded while others ended in a fiasco, advancing our understanding of the drivers of ecological success.

These findings will contribute to the urgently needed improvement of knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms that originate and maintain biodiversity to inform effective actions in wildlife management.