Global warming is exacerbating biodiversity loss. This study incorporates intraspecific variation in genomic offset and ecological niche modelling to assess climate change vulnerability in two Sino-Himalayan bird species. Cold-tolerant populations showed higher genomic offset but less niche suitability decline. A genome-niche index identified cold-tolerant populations as potential donors for evolutionary rescue. Landscape genetic analysis evaluated rescue routes. Integrating genomic offset, niche modelling, and landscape connectivity improves vulnerability assessments and conservation management.

Yilin Chen, Zhiyong Jiang, Ping Fan, Per G. P. Ericson, Gang Song, Xu Luo, Fumin Lei, Yanhua Qu