Publication Date November 22, 2017 | Phys.org

Species may appear deceptively resilient to climate change

Mussel beds at Bodega Marine Reserve. Photo: Laura Jurgens
Mussel beds at Bodega Marine Reserve. Photo: Laura Jurgens

Nature itself can be the best defense against climate change for many species—at least in the short term­—according to a study published in the journal Ecology Letters from the University of California, Davis.

The study found that natural habitats play a vital role in helping other plants and animals resist heat stresses ramping up with climate change—at least until the species they depend on to form those habitats become imperiled. This suggests a need to re-evaluate climate change predictions for many species, including predictions that species in the south will move north with global warming.