New maps show how habitats may shift with climate change
This
map shows how marine habitat ranges will shift likely in a segment of
the Northern Hemisphere. The length of the black arrows indicates the
velocity of temperature change, and the color schemes correspond with
the nature of the habitat migration, as follows. SINK: Migrations
terminate due to some barrier, such as coastlines. SOURCE: Migrations do
not terminate. CORRIDOR: Many migrations passing through. DIVERGENCE:
Fewer migrations end than start. CONVERGENCE: More migrations start than
end. Credit: Michael Burrows and Jorge Garcia Molinosor
As
regional temperatures shift with climate change, many plants and
animals will need to relocate to make sure they stay in the range of
temperatures they're used to.
For some species, this shift will
mean a fairly direct adjustment toward higher latitudes to stay with
cooler temperatures, but for many others, the path will take twists and
turns due to differences in the rate at which temperatures change around
the world, scientists say.
Now, a team of 21 international researchers has identified potential paths of these twists and turns by mapping out
climate velocities—
the speed and intensity with which climate change occurs in a given
region — averaged from 50 years of satellite data from 1960 through
2009, and projected for the duration of the 21st century.
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"We
are taking physical data that we have had for a long time and
representing them in a way that is more relevant to other disciplines,
like ecology," said co-author Michael Burrows, a researcher at the
Scottish Marine Institute. "This is a relatively simple approach to
understanding how climate is going to influence ocean and land systems."
Where species come and go
The
resulting maps indicate regions likely to experience an influx or
exodus of new species, or behave as a corridor or, conversely, a
barrier, to migration. Barriers, such as coastlines or mountain ranges,
could cause
local extinctions if they prevent species from relocating, the team says. [
Maps: Habitat Shifts Due to Climate Change]
"For
example, because those environments are not adjacent to or directly
connected to a warmer place, those species from warmer places won't be
able to get there very easily," Burrows told Live Science. "They might
still get there in other ways, like on the bottoms of ships, but they
won't get there as easily."
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