Connectivity Without Permanence: Intermittent Thermal Corridors in a Dynamic Ocean

ABSTRACT

Increasingly anomalous ocean conditions driven by climate change are fundamentally altering marine ecosystems, reshaping the distributions and movements of highly mobile species. Many migratory species rely on environmental and thermal cues to time their movements between foraging and breeding grounds, ensuring that migration occurs under favorable conditions essential for physiological processes, such as growth, development, and reproduction. Importantly, as ocean temperatures rise, intermittent corridors to essential habitats for foraging, reproduction, and development, known as “thermal corridors,” may lead to spatiotemporal shifts of the migratory patterns for many marine species. In this paper, we identify several examples of thermal corridors that vary across space and time. We discuss the periodicity of these thermal corridors, the physical features that define their spatial extent, and differences in species use. We synthesize existing evidence to suggest that intermittent thermal corridors may be more common than previously assumed, with serious implications on the life history traits and population dynamics of migratory species in a changing climate. Importantly, a deeper understanding of these climate‐driven shifts in migratory patterns is vital to inform conservation and management efforts in the context of rapidly‐changing ocean conditions.