Range-wide latitudinal and elevational temperature gradients for the world's terrestrial birds: implications under global climate change.

ABSTRACT: Species' geographical distributions are tracking latitudinal and elevational surface temperature gradients under global climate change. To evaluate the opportunities to track these gradients across space, we provide a first baseline assessment of the steepness of these gradients for the world's terrestrial birds. Within the breeding ranges of 9,014 bird species, we characterized the spatial gradients in temperature along latitude and elevation for all and a subset of bird species, respectively. We summarized these temperature gradients globally for threatened and non-threatened species and determined how their steepness varied based on species' geography (range size, shape, and orientation) and projected changes in temperature under climate change. Elevational temperature gradients were st

SUBMITTER: La Sorte FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4031198 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature