Novel Climates, No-Analog Communities, and Truncated Niches

During the last deglaciation, species reshuffled into communities unlike any at present in response to climates with no modern analog. These no-analog communities and climates offer a model system for studying community assembly and disassembly in response to climate change. Many species fundamental niches are �truncated� by the limits of current climates, challenging our ability to predict the effects of novel climates on community composition, ecosystem function, and biodiversity.