Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41670047›Full record

ArticleEcology2026

Range-extending fish become competitive dominants under ocean warming but not heatwaves or acidification.

Angus Mitchell, Ericka O C Coni, Sean D Connell, David J Booth, Ben P Harvey, Sylvain Agostini, Timothy Ravasi, Ivan Nagelkerken

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Angus MitchellSouthern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2255-9652
Ericka O C ConiSouthern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2789-7455
Sean D ConnellSouthern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5350-6852
David J BoothSchool of the Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8256-1412
Ben P HarveyShimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4971-1634
Sylvain AgostiniShimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9040-9296
Timothy RavasiLabex ICONA, International CO2 Natural Analogues Network, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9950-465X
Ivan NagelkerkenSouthern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4499-3940

Funding

Australian Research Council DP230101932Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 23K26924Japan Society for the Promotion of Science JPJSCCA20210006Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Kick-start grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ocean warming is driving species range extensions into cooler regions. The direct physiological influence of warming on species performance can accelerate such extensions into novel ecosystems; however, indirect effects of invader-resident interactions in cooler regions may counter these positive effects. Here, we examined the foraging performance and densities of competing warm-water and cool-water fishes across a latitudinal temperature gradient spanning 1500 km from tropical to temperate reefs subjected to rapid ocean warming in the southern hemisphere, and across natural analogs of temperate, tropicalized, and acidified reef localities in the northern hemisphere, and during a severe marine heatwave at a temperate reef. While current levels of ocean warming have allowed the warm-water fish to extend their ranges into temperate ecosystems at both hemispheres, their foraging performance was reduced at both the cold- and warm-temperate reefs compared to the (sub)tropical reefs. However, at the (warmer) tropicalized reef, the warm-water fish had higher foraging performance and maintained densities, even under extreme pH reduction, compared to the temperate reef. In contrast, the cool-water species struggled at the warmer tropicalized and extreme reefs with reduced foraging performance and lower population densities compared to the temperate reef. Contrastingly, the severe heatwave experienced at the temperate reef did not alter the foraging behaviors of either species. We suggest that ocean warming boosts the foraging performance of the range-extending warm-water fish and impairs that of their cool-water competitor at temperate reefs, irrespective of acidification and heatwaves, leading to a shift in dominance hierarchies on temperate reefs. We conclude that warming-driven increases in foraging performance of the warm-water species may alleviate foraging limitations and enhance its establishment at its leading range edges under climate change, to the detriment of its cool-water competitors.

Indexed as

Animal DistributionClimate ChangeFishesHot TemperatureSeawaterAnimalsCoral ReefsOcean AcidificationOceans and SeasTemperatureclimate changemarine heatwavesocean acidificationocean warmingrange shiftsreef fishesspecies interactionsspecies redistributions

Identifiers

PMID41670047
PMCPMC12892380

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.