Habitats will have to keep pace with climate change

Washington, Dec 25 (Inditop.com) From beetles to barnacles, pikas to pine warblers, many species are already responding to shifting climate regimes.

But how fast will they — and their habitats — have to move to keep pace with global climate change over the next century?

In a new study, a team of scientists including Healy Hamilton from the California Academy of Sciences (CSA) have calculated that ecosystems will need to shift about 420 metres per year to keep pace with climate change.

Mountainous habitats will be able to move more slowly, since a modest move up or down slope can result in a large change in temperature.

However, flatter ecosystems, such as flooded grasslands, mangroves, and deserts, will need to move much more rapidly to stay in their comfort zone — sometimes more than a kilometre per year, said a CSA release.

The team also included scientists from the Carnegie Institute of Science, Climate Central, and University of California-Berkley (UC-B).

These findings were published in the Thursday issue of Nature.