Predicting habitat suitability and range shifts under projected climate change for two octocorals in the north-east Atlantic.

ABSTRACT: Species distribution models have become a valuable tool to predict the distribution of species across geographic space and time. In this study, maximum entropy models were constructed for two temperate shallow-water octocoral species, the pink sea fan (Eunicella verrucosa) and dead man's fingers (Alcyonium digitatum), to investigate and compare habitat suitability. The study area covered the north-east Atlantic from the Bay of Biscay to the British Isles and southern Norway; this area includes both the northern range of E. verrucosa and the middle-northern range of A. digitatum. The optimal models for each species showed that, overall, slope, temperature at the seafloor and wave orbital velocity were important predictors of distribution in both species. Predicti

SUBMITTER: Jenkins TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9150690 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature