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Palms (Arecaceae) are a relatively speciose family and provide materials for food, construction, and handicraft, especially in the tropics. They are frequently used as paleo‐indicators for megathermal climates, and therefore, it is logical to predict that palms will benefit from predicted warmer temperatures under anthropogenic climate change. We created species distribution models to explore the projected ranges of five widespread southeastern North American palm species (Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Sabal etonia, Sabal minor, Sabal palmetto, and Serenoa repens) under four climate change scenarios through 2070. We project that the amount of habitat with >50% suitability for S. etonia will decline by a median of 50% by 2070, while the amount of habitat with >50% suitability S. minor will decline by a median of 97%. In contrast, the amount of suitable habitat for Rhapidophyllum hystrix will remain stable, while the amount of suitable habitat for Serenoa repens will slightly increase. The projected distribution for S. palmetto will increase substantially, by a median of approximately 21% across all scenarios. The centroid of the range of each species will shift generally north at a median rate of 23.5 km/decade. These five palm species have limited dispersal ability and require a relatively long time to mature and set fruit. Consequently, it is likely that the change in the distribution of these palms will lag behind the projected changes in climate. However, Arecaceae can modify physiological responses to heat and drought, which may permit these palms to persist as local conditions become increasingly inappropriate. Nonetheless, this plasticity is unlikely to indefinitely prevent local extinctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chelonians are expected to be negatively impacted by climate change due to limited vagility and temperature-dependent sex determination. However, few studies have examined how freshwater turtle distributions may shift under different climate change scenarios. We used a maximum entropy approach to model the distribution of five widespread North American Kinosternon species ( K. baurii, K. flavescens, K. hirtipes, K. sonoriense, and K. subrubrum) under four climate change scenarios. We found that areas with suitable climatic conditions for K. baurii and K. hirtipes are expected to decline substantially during the 21st century. In contrast, the area with suitable climate for K. sonoriense will remain essentially unchanged, while areas suitable for K. flavescens and K. subrubrum are expected to substantially increase. The centroid for the distribution of four of the five species shifted northward, while the centroid for K. sonoriense shifted slightly southward. Overall, centroids shifted at a median rate of 37.5 km per decade across all scenarios. Given the limited dispersal ability of turtles, it appears unlikely that range shifts will occur rapidly enough to keep pace with climate change during the 21st century. The ability of chelonians to modify behavioral and physiological responses in response to unfavorable conditions may allow turtles to persist for a time in areas that have become increasingly unsuitable, but this plasticity will likely only delay local extinctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]