Species traits and climate velocity explain geographic range shifts in an ocean‐warming hotspot

Species' ranges are shifting globally in response to climate warming, with substantial variability among taxa, even within regions. Relationships between range dynamics and intrinsic species traits may be particularly apparent in the ocean, where temperature more directly shapes species' d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2015-09, Vol.18 (9), p.944-953
Main Authors: Sunday, Jennifer M, Pecl, Gretta T, Frusher, Stewart, Hobday, Alistair J, Hill, Nicole, Holbrook, Neil J, Edgar, Graham J, Stuart‐Smith, Rick, Barrett, Neville, Wernberg, Thomas, Watson, Reg A, Smale, Dan A, Fulton, Elizabeth A, Slawinski, Dirk, Feng, Ming, Radford, Ben T, Thompson, Peter A, Bates, Amanda E, Worm, Boris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Australia
Benthic invertebrates
Biogeography
Body Size
climate
Climate Change
climate response
Diet - veterinary
Ecosystem
fishes
Fishes - physiology
Food Chain
functional traits
Global warming
Homing Behavior
invasion
Invertebrates - physiology
Likelihood Functions
Linear Models
Marine Biology
Motor Activity
Ocean temperature
Oceans and Seas
omnivores
Population Density
range expansion
range shifts
range size
Reproduction
swimming
Temperature
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Summary:Species' ranges are shifting globally in response to climate warming, with substantial variability among taxa, even within regions. Relationships between range dynamics and intrinsic species traits may be particularly apparent in the ocean, where temperature more directly shapes species' distributions. Here, we test for a role of species traits and climate velocity in driving range extensions in the ocean‐warming hotspot of southeast Australia. Climate velocity explained some variation in range shifts, however, including species traits more than doubled the variation explained. Swimming ability, omnivory and latitudinal range size all had positive relationships with range extension rate, supporting hypotheses that increased dispersal capacity and ecological generalism promote extensions. We find independent support for the hypothesis that species with narrow latitudinal ranges are limited by factors other than climate. Our findings suggest that small‐ranging species are in double jeopardy, with limited ability to escape warming and greater intrinsic vulnerability to stochastic disturbances.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.12474