Impact assessment of coastal marine range shifts to support proactive management

Climate change is reshuffling Earth’s biota as species ranges shift to
track increasing habitat temperatures. While redistribution may be
necessary for species persistence, there can also be impacts on existing
communities upon arrival of novel, range-shifting species. Anticipating
the beneficial versus deleterious impacts of range-shifting species is
essential for determining whether active management is
needed, which could include employing strategies from
facilitation (eg managed relocation) to suppression (eg
prevention/control). We employ an impact assessment protocol developed for
invasive species to evaluate potential consequences of range shifts in
coastal marine ecosystems of North America. Our review demonstrates how
invasion impact assessment combined with species vulnerability assessment
could support decisions about management of range shifts. We found that
~50% of these shifting coastal species have had negative impacts in their
expanded range. Thus, the importance of proactive management is
likely to increase as the number and extent of range shifts accelerates.