Warming risk looks different when metabolism, plasticity and habitat are separated
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS
A global meta-analysis found aquatic invertebrates generally had lower metabolic responses to temperature than terrestrial invertebrates, while the temperature response increased more steeply with latitude in terrestrial taxa. Organisms from warm, relatively stable climates showed greater metabolic plasticity. Scenario-based scaling projected larger metabolic increases for terrestrial than aquatic invertebrates under warming.
WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ
Climate-risk forecasts should not assume one universal metabolic response. Habitat, latitude and climatic history alter the biological response to warming, so vulnerability inference improves when those mechanisms remain explicit rather than being compressed into a single temperature coefficient.
CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY
The synthesis spans heterogeneous taxa, traits and study designs. A change in metabolic rate is not equivalent to population decline or ecosystem collapse, and the future-response estimates depend on scenario and model assumptions rather than direct observation of future communities.
SOURCE
Nature Communications
View original evidence ↗
A global meta-analysis finds terrestrial invertebrates—especially at higher latitudes—show steeper metabolic responses to warming, while organisms from warm, stable climates show greater metabolic plasticity.
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