J. M. Sunday, G. T. Pecl, S. Frusher, A. J. Hobday, N. Hill, N. J. Holbrook, G. J. Edgar, R. Stuart-Smith, N. Barrett, T. Wernberg, R. A. Watson, D. A. Smale, E. A. Fulton, D. Slawinski, M. Feng, B. T. Radford, P. A. Thompson, A. E. Bates, (In Press). Ecology Letters

range shifts, climate change, species traits, range extension, climate velocity, functional traits, climate response
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 tractable in the ocean, where temperature more directly shapes species distributions. Here we test the possible role of species traits and climate velocity in driving the rate of range extensions in a region of rapid ocean warming. Climate expectation explained some variation in range shifts. However, including species traits more than doubled the variation explained. Swimming ability, omnivory, and latitudinal range size all have positive relationships with range extension rates, supporting hypotheses that increased dispersal capacity and ecological generalism promote range extensions. We find independent support for the hypothesis that species with narrow marine latitudinal ranges are out of equilibrium with climate. These findings suggest that small-ranging species are in double jeopardy, with a limited ability to escape warming and greater intrinsic vulnerability to stochastic threats.