The Pace of Shifting Climate in Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems

2011/11/03 by Michael T. Burrows, David S. Schoeman, Lauren B. Buckley +16 · 11 citations
Environmental Science · #Species Distribution and Climate Change #Marine and fisheries research #Marine animal studies overview

paper · doi:10.1126/science.1210288

openalex publication_date 2011/11/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Climate change challenges organisms to adapt or move to track changes in environments in space and time. We used two measures of thermal shifts from analyses of global temperatures over the past 50 years to describe the pace of climate change that species should track: the velocity of climate change (geographic shifts of isotherms over time) and the shift in seasonal timing of temperatures. Both measures are higher in the ocean than on land at some latitudes, despite slower ocean warming. These indices give a complex mosaic of predicted range shifts and phenology changes that deviate from simple poleward migration and earlier springs or later falls. They also emphasize potential conservation concerns, because areas of high marine biodiversity often have greater velocities of climate change and seasonal shifts.

Citations

• MOSAIC PATTERNS OF THERMAL STRESS IN THE ROCKY INTERTIDAL ZONE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

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• Lauren B. Buckley [wikipedia]