Climate-driven connectivity loss impedes species adaptation to warming in the deep ocean

Yuxuan Lin, Yuxin Chen, Xin Liu, Xin Lin, Edward A. Laws, Yuntao Zhou, Zhiyuan Xiang, Xinyi Zhang, Zhixue Chen, Yi Li () and Yonglong Lu
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Yuxuan Lin: Xiamen University
Yuxin Chen: Xiamen University
Xin Liu: Xiamen University
Xin Lin: Xiamen University
Edward A. Laws: Louisiana State University
Yuntao Zhou: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhiyuan Xiang: Xiamen University
Xinyi Zhang: Xiamen University
Zhixue Chen: Xiamen University
Yi Li: Xiamen University
Yonglong Lu: Xiamen University

Nature Climate Change, 2025, vol. 15, issue 3, 315-320

Abstract: Abstract Marine life are expected to have fewer thermal barriers restricting their movement to adjacent habitats than terrestrial species do. However, it remains unknown how this warming-induced connectivity loss varies in different ocean strata, limiting the predictability of warming impacts on biodiversity in the whole ocean. Here, we developed a climate connectivity framework across seascape strata under different climate change scenarios, which combines thermal gradient, human impacts and species tolerance thresholds. We show that warming may lead to connectivity loss, with its magnitude increasing with depth. Connectivity loss is projected to increase rapidly in 2050, particularly in deep strata, and may impair the movement capacity of deep-sea phyla in adapting to warming. With the compression of habitat ranges, over one-quarter of deep-sea species inhabit areas that may experience disrupted connectivity, threatening the maintenance of deep-sea biodiversity. Our results highlight the challenges that climate change poses to biodiversity conservation through disruption of deep-sea connectivity.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41558-025-02256-7

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