-
Bivalves
-
Includes brief species/habitat information
Located in
Data
/
Species & Habitat Association List
-
Competitive and demographic leverage points of community shifts under climate warming
-
Accelerating rates of climate change and a paucity of whole-community studies of climate impacts limit our ability to forecast shifts in ecosystem structure and dynamics, particularly because climate change can lead to idiosyncratic responses via both demographic effects and altered species interactions. We used a multispecies model to predict which processes and species’ responses are likely to drive shifts in the composition of a space- limited benthic marine community. Our model was parametrized from experimental manipulations of the community. Model simulations indicated shifts in species dominance patterns as temperatures increase, with projected shifts in composition primarily owing to the temperature dependence of growth, mortality and competition for three critical species. By contrast, warming impacts on two other species (rendering them weaker competitors for space) and recruitment rates of all species were of lesser importance in determining projected community changes. Our analysis reveals the impor- tance of temperature-dependent competitive interactions for predicting effects of changing climate on such communities. Furthermore, by identify- ing processes and species that could disproportionately leverage shifts in community composition, our results contribute to a mechanistic understand- ing of climate change impacts, thereby allowing more insightful predictions of future biodiversity patterns.
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
Contrasting futures for ocean and society from different anthropogenic CO2 emissions scenarios
-
The ocean moderates anthropogenic climate change at the cost of profound alterations of its physics, chemistry, ecology, and services. Here, we evaluate and compare the risks of impacts on marine and coastal ecosystems—and the goods and services they provide—for growing cumulative carbon emissions under two contrasting emissions scenarios. The current emissions trajectory would rapidly and significantly alter many ecosystems and the associated services on which humans heavily depend. A reduced emissions scenario — consistent with the Copenhagen Accord’s goal of a global temperature increase of less than 2°C — is much more favorable to the ocean but still substantially alters important marine ecosystems and associated goods and services. The management options to address ocean impacts narrow as the ocean warms and acidifies.
Located in
Resources
/
Climate Science Documents
-
Dettmers, Randy
-
I work on conservation planning (biological foundation and landscape design) for birds of conservation concern, with a focus on landbirds, as well as designing and implementing monitoring programs to track population status of such species and evaluate the success of conservation actions for these species.
Located in
Expertise Search
-
Laurent, Ed
-
Located in
Expertise Search
-
Mammals
-
Includes brief species/habitat information
Located in
Data
/
Species & Habitat Association List
-
Reptiles
-
Includes brief species/habitat information
Located in
Data
/
Species & Habitat Association List
