As the oceans warm, wide-ranging species will have an edge

Terra Daily via SPX: Marine species that already have large ranges are extending their territories fastest in response to climate change, according to new research from University of British Columbia biodiversity experts.

The study is one of the first comprehensive looks at how traits--other than thermal niche--impact marine animals' ability to respond to climate change. It could help improve global predictions of how different species redistribute as the oceans warm, and identify species in greatest jeopardy.

"We have a bit of a mystery as to why some animals are moving quickly into cooler waters, like the green sea urchin that is decimating kelp forests in Tasmania, while other species aren't moving at all," says UBC biodiversity researcher Jennifer Sunday, lead author of the study.

"Our findings indicate that animals which already have wide-latitudinal ranges, habitat generalists, and species with high adult mobility displayed the quickest and greatest range shifts. The flip side is that small-ranging species are in increased jeopardy as our planet's oceans continue to warm."....

Oscar (Astronotus ocellatus), a popular aquarium fish from South America, shot by Jón Helgi Jónsson (Amything), Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license