Land and Sea Species Differ in Climate Change Response

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2012) — Marine and terrestrial species will likely differ in their responses to climate warming, new research by Simon Fraser University and Australia's University of Tasmania has found.

The study, published this week in Nature Climate Change, provides insights into why and how species are moving around the globe in response to global warming.

Researchers gathered published data from tests determining the physiological temperature limits -- tolerance to heating and cooling levels -- on 169 cold-blooded marine and terrestrial species, then compared the data with the regions the species inhabit.

They found that while marine animals closely conformed to the temperature regions they could potentially occupy, terrestrial species live farther from the equator than their internal thermometers suggest they can live. In other words warm temperatures aren't limiting them from living in closer to the equator.

Continued: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120529102427.htm