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Marine taxa track local climate velocities
Malin L Pinsky1, Boris Worm, Michael J Fogarty
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. malin.pinsky@rutgers.edu
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 14, 2013
Summary
Marine species shift their distributions in response to climate change. Climate velocity, the speed and direction of climate change across landscapes, effectively explains these observed shifts in latitude and depth.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Climate Change Biology
- Marine Biology
Background:
- Organisms are predicted to shift their geographic distributions in response to climate change.
- Observed species distribution shifts vary widely in rate and direction, with explanations often focusing on species-specific traits.
- General mechanisms driving these diverse responses remain elusive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that climate velocity explains observed marine species distribution shifts.
- To determine if climate velocity is a more effective predictor of species shifts than intrinsic biological characteristics.
Main Methods:
- Compiled a large database of North American coastal surveys spanning 1968-2011.
- Included data from 128 million individuals across 360 marine taxa.
- Analyzed the relationship between species distribution shifts (latitude and depth) and climate velocity.
Main Results:
- Climate velocity significantly explained the magnitude and direction of marine species shifts.
- Climate velocity was a more effective predictor of distribution shifts than species-specific characteristics.
- Marine species closely tracked local climate velocity patterns.
Conclusions:
- Differences in marine species' distribution shifts are primarily driven by variations in climate velocity.
- Climate velocity provides a general mechanism explaining diverse species responses to climate change.
- Marine ecosystems exhibit complex responses to climate change, mirroring landscape-level climate shifts.
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