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When a normally cold stream in Iceland was warmed, the make-up of life inside changed as larger organisms thrived while smaller ones struggled, according to two papers published by researchers from The University of Alabama.
The findings carry implications for life in a warming climate as the experiment shows mobile organisms should fare better than those adapted to cooler temperatures unable to disperse.
“As we warm up the planet, the consequences for a community’s natural ecosystem will depend on dispersal,” said Dr. Jon Benstead, a freshwater ecologist and UA professor of biological sciences. “Communities will change and receive new species that can disperse that not only do well under those warm conditions, but can get there.
“If you don’t do well in warmer temperatures, and you can’t disperse, you’re toast.”
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Image Credit: The University of Alabama
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