Data from: Tackling extremes: challenges for ecological and evolutionary research on extreme climatic events

1. Extreme climatic events (ECEs) are predicted to become more frequent as the climate changes. A rapidly increasing number of studies - though few on animals - suggest that the biological consequences of ECEs can be severe. 2. However, ecological research on the impacts of extreme climatic events (ECEs) has been limited by a lack of cohesiveness and structure. ECEs are often poorly defined and have often been confusingly equated with climatic variability, making comparison between studies difficult. Additionally, a focus on short-term studies has provided us with little information on the long-term implications of ECEs, and the descriptive and anecdotal nature of many studies has meant it is still unclear what the key research questions are. 3. Synthesizing the current state of work is essential to identify ways to make progress. We conduct a synthesis of the literature and discuss conceptual and practical challenges faced by research on ECEs. 4. We consider three steps to advance research. First, we discuss the importance of choosing an ECE definition and identify the pros and cons of ‘climatological’ and ‘biological’ definitions of ECEs. Second, we advocate research beyond short-term descriptive studies to address questions concerning the long-term implications of ECEs, focussing on selective pressures and phenotypically plastic responses and how they might differ from responses to a changing climatic mean. Finally, we encourage a greater focus on multi-event studies that help us understand the implications of changing patterns of ECEs, through the combined use of modelling, experimental and observational field studies. 5. This paper aims to open a discussion on the definitions, questions and methods currently used to study ECEs, which will lead to a more cohesive approach to future ECE research.

1. 随着气候变化，极端气候事件（Extreme climatic events, ECEs）的发生频率预计将进一步升高。当前相关研究的总量正快速增长，尽管其中针对动物类群的研究寥寥无几，但现有研究均已证实，极端气候事件可引发严重的生物学后果。
2. 然而，当前针对极端气候事件生态影响的研究仍缺乏系统性与结构性。极端气候事件的定义往往不够明晰，且常与气候变异性混淆，这使得不同研究间难以开展横向对比。此外，现有研究多聚焦于短期观测，我们对极端气候事件的长期影响仍知之甚少；同时多数研究仅为描述性或轶事性研究，目前仍无法明确该领域的核心科学问题。
3. 整合当前研究现状，对明确研究推进路径至关重要。本研究通过系统综述现有文献，探讨了极端气候事件研究面临的概念性与实践性挑战。
4. 我们提出可通过三大步骤推动该领域研究发展：其一，探讨明确极端气候事件定义的重要性，并剖析「气候学定义」与「生物学定义」两类定义的优劣；其二，倡导开展超越短期描述性研究的工作，聚焦极端气候事件的长期影响，重点关注选择压力与表型可塑性响应，以及此类响应与气候变化均值背景下的响应存在何种差异；最后，鼓励更多聚焦多极端气候事件的研究，通过结合模型模拟、野外实验与原位观测研究，解析极端气候事件格局变化带来的生态效应。
5. 本文旨在就当前极端气候事件研究中所采用的定义、核心科学问题与研究方法展开讨论，以期为未来极端气候事件研究构建更具系统性的研究范式。