title: Climate change and latitudinal patterns of intertidal thermal stress.
abstract: The interaction of climate and the timing of low tides along the West Coast of the United States creates a complex mosaic of thermal environments, in which northern sites can be more thermally stressful than southern sites. Thus, climate change may not lead to a poleward shift in the distribution of intertidal organisms, as has been proposed, but instead will likely cause localized extinctions at a series of "hot spots." Patterns of exposure to extreme climatic conditions are temporally variable, and tidal predictions suggest that in the next 3 to 5 years "hot spots" are likely to appear at several northern sites.
authors.affiliation: University of South Carolina, Department of Biological Sciences and Marine Sciences Program, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. helmuth@biol.sc.edu
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Helmuth
authors.forename: Christopher D G
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Harley
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Halpin
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Donnell
authors.forename: Gretchen E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Blanchette
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000502:physiology*; D001831:Body Temperature; D002980:Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005843:Geography; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D019601:Pacific States; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater; D013696:Temperature; D014872:Water Movements