Data from: Evolutionary constraints mediate extinction risk under climate change

Mounting evidence suggests that rapid evolutionary adaptation may rescue
some organisms from the impacts of climate change. However, evolutionary
constraints might hinder this process, especially when different aspects
of environmental change generate antagonistic selection on genetically
correlated traits. Here, we use individual-based simulations to explore
how genetic correlations underlying the thermal physiology of ectotherms
might influence their responses to the two major components of climate
change—increases in mean temperature and thermal variability. We found
that genetic correlations can influence population dynamics under climate
change, with declines in population size varying three-fold depending on
the type of correlation present. Surprisingly, populations whose thermal
performance curves were constrained by genetic correlations often declined
less rapidly than unconstrained populations. Our results suggest that
accurate forecasts of the impact of climate change on ectotherms will
require an understanding of the genetic architecture of the traits under
selection.