New Map Tracks Climate Change and Species Migration

UCSB’s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) worked with international scientists to create a map to track shifting climates and species migration. A collection of international scientists collaborated and examined 50 years of sea surface and land temperature data to create a map that shows where existing environments may disappear due to climate change.

They discovered that climate migration is more complex than species shifting toward the poles, which an earlier NCEAS report suggested. This map looked at the same data more thoroughly and found species could potentially run into a “climate sink”— disappearing environments — while relocating to follow their ideal climate. The results provide information for conservationists to utilize alternative means (such as assisted migration) to manage species for future sustainability.