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Predicting climate change effects on marine biodiversity: comparison of recent and fossil molluscan death assemblages
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Predicting climate change effects on marine biodiversity: comparison of recent and fossil molluscan death assemblages

R.M. Warwick and S.M. Turk
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Vol.82(5), pp.847-850
2002
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Abstract

The death assemblage of molluscs (gastropods and bivalves) from the sandy beach at Harlyn Bay, north Cornwall is shown to be fully representative of the biodiversity of the regional species pool from all habitat types. The biodiversity measures used are average taxonomic distinctness (Δ +, the average degree to which species in an assemblage are related to each other) and variation in taxonomic distinctness (Λ +, the evenness of the spread of taxa across the taxonomic spectrum). A late Pliocene fossil assemblage of molluscs from St Erth Pits, north Cornwall, UK, is also not significantly different in biodiversity, in these terms, from the present-day regional species pool. The climate in the late Pliocene was similar to the present-day Mediterranean, suggesting that predicted changes in climate, by the end of this century, will not affect molluscan biodiversity, although the species composition will undoubtedly change.

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#14 Life Below Water

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Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.2 Marine Biology
3.2.605 Benthic Biodiversity
Web Of Science research areas
Marine & Freshwater Biology
ESI research areas
Plant & Animal Science
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