Meek, Mariah HBeever, Erik ABarbosa, SoraiaFitzpatrick, Sarah WFletcher, Nicholas KMittan-Moreau, Cinnamon SReid, Brendan NCampbell-Staton, Shane CGreen, Nancy FHellmann, Jessica J2023-02-272023-02-272022-11Mariah H Meek, Erik A Beever, Soraia Barbosa, Sarah W Fitzpatrick, Nicholas K Fletcher, Cinnamon S Mittan-Moreau, Brendan N Reid, Shane C Campbell-Staton, Nancy F Green, Jessica J Hellmann, Understanding Local Adaptation to Prepare Populations for Climate Change, BioScience, Volume 73, Issue 1, January 2023, Pages 36–47, https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac1010006-3568https://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/17748This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in BioScience following peer review. The version of record [Understanding Local Adaptation to Prepare Populations for Climate Change. BioScience 73, 1 p36-47 (2022)] is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biac101.Adaptation within species to local environments is widespread in nature. Better understanding this local adaptation is critical to conserving biodiversity. However, conservation practices can rely on species’ trait averages or can broadly assume homogeneity across the range to inform management. Recent methodological advances for studying local adaptation provide the opportunity to fine-tune efforts for managing and conserving species. The implementation of these advances will allow us to better identify populations at greatest risk of decline because of climate change, as well as highlighting possible strategies for improving the likelihood of population persistence amid climate change. In the present article, we review recent advances in the study of local adaptation and highlight ways these tools can be applied in conservation efforts. Cutting-edge tools are available to help better identify and characterize local adaptation. Indeed, increased incorporation of local adaptation in management decisions may help meet the imminent demands of managing species amid a rapidly changing world.en-UScc-by-sahttps://web.archive.org/web/20200106202133/https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/access_purchase/rights_and_permissions/embargo_periodshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/climate changeprepare poplationsArticle