PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J. Lenoir
AU  - R. Bertrand
AU  - L. Comte
AU  - L. Bourgeaud
AU  - T. Hattab
AU  - J. Murienne
AU  - G. Grenouillet
TI  - Species better track the shifting isotherms in the oceans than on lands
AID  - 10.1101/765776
DP  - 2019 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 765776
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/11/765776.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/11/765776.full
AB  - Despite mounting evidence of species redistribution as climate warms, our knowledge of the coupling between species range shifts and isotherm shifts is limited. Compiling a global geo-database of 30,534 range shifts from 12,415 taxa, we show that only marine taxa closely track the shifting isotherms. In the oceans, the velocity of isotherm shifts interacts synergistically with anthropogenic disturbances and baseline temperatures such that isotherm tracking by marine life happens either in warm and undisturbed waters (e.g. Central Pacific Basin) or in colder waters where human activities are more pronounced (e.g. North Sea). On lands, increasing anthropogenic activities and temperatures negatively impact the capacity of terrestrial taxa to track isotherm shifts in latitude and elevation, respectively. This suggests that terrestrial taxa are lagging behind the shifting isotherms, most likely due to their wider thermal safety margin, more constrained physical environment for dispersal and higher availability of thermal microrefugia at shorter distances.