Climate change has driven ecological change, but the long-term effects on different species and environments are still open to question. There is high variability in biological responses to climate change, especially in animal range shifts, which are directional movements in species ranges influencing ecological communities. Animals like mammals and birds may shift to altered latitudes or elevations in response to climate change. In particular, little is known about the effect on species like salamanders, which might not move in expected directions. I used slender salamanders –Batrachoseps– to determine if their geographical ranges have shifted. Previous research by Dr. Kay Yanev found how genetically diverse the species within the Batrachoseps genus is. For this project, I collected four Batrachoseps species in Coastal California from sites where the species overlapped their geographical regions, which Dr. Kay Yanev discovered. I have examined how diverse these four species are through genetic techniques like Sanger sequencing, and I suggest populations are spreading across a wider geographical range. I intend to continue investigating how Batrachoseps species’ range shifts are being impacted by climate change, which will provide new insights into the impact of climate change on biodiversity.
