Climate change impacts on bumblebees converge across continents
Author(s) -
Jeremy T. Kerr,
Alana Pindar,
Paul Galpern,
Laurence Packer,
Simon G. Potts,
Stuart Roberts,
Pierre Rasmont,
Oliver Schweiger,
Sheila R. Colla,
Leif L. Richardson,
David L. Wagner,
Lawrence F. Gall,
Derek S. Sikes,
Alberto Pantoja
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 12.556
H-Index - 1186
eISSN - 1095-9203
pISSN - 0036-8075
DOI - 10.1126/science.aaa7031
Subject(s) - climate change , range (aeronautics) , ecology , global warming , elevation (ballistics) , geography , physical geography , biology , physics , materials science , composite material , astronomy
For many species, geographical ranges are expanding toward the poles in response to climate change, while remaining stable along range edges nearest the equator. Using long-term observations across Europe and North America over 110 years, we tested for climate change-related range shifts in bumblebee species across the full extents of their latitudinal and thermal limits and movements along elevation gradients. We found cross-continentally consistent trends in failures to track warming through time at species' northern range limits, range losses from southern range limits, and shifts to higher elevations among southern species. These effects are independent of changing land uses or pesticide applications and underscore the need to test for climate impacts at both leading and trailing latitudinal and thermal limits for species.
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