Safeguarding global terrestrial vertebrate species from future sea-level rise

Sea-level rise (SLR) threatens terrestrial biodiversity, yet its spatiotemporal and species-specific impacts remain unclear. Integrating relative SLR projections across five Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) with Area of Habitat (AOH) maps for 34,120 terrestrial vertebrate species, we project species exposed to SLR will increase from up to 13,680 in 2050 to 15,324 by 2100, including 57–63% of birds, 47–52% of mammals, 28–36% of reptiles, and 20–24% of amphibians. In Southeast Asia, inland inundation areas support high richness. Under SSP5-8.5, species facing >10% habitat inundation surges from 18 in 2050 to 109 by 2100, with reptiles and already threatened species overrepresented. Safeguarding SLR refugia, the non-inundated habitats for exposed species, is critical, yet over 96% lie outside protected areas, demanding early international action.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Science
Published
2026-10-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aed5772
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Safeguarding global terrestrial vertebrate species from future sea-level rise

Jeffrey O. Hanson, David S. Wilcove, Zhong‐Wen Jiang, Mark Schuerch et al.
Science
Species Distribution and Climate Change
article

Safeguarding global terrestrial vertebrate species from future sea-level rise

Jeffrey O. Hanson, David S. Wilcove, Zhong‐Wen Jiang, Mark Schuerch, Matthew L. Kirwan, Yiwen Zeng, H. B. Xiao, Yaping Chen, Liang Ma, Qin-Fang Yan
article en

Abstract

Sea-level rise (SLR) threatens terrestrial biodiversity, yet its spatiotemporal and species-specific impacts remain unclear. Integrating relative SLR projections across five Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) with Area of Habitat (AOH) maps for 34,120 terrestrial vertebrate species, we project species exposed to SLR will increase from up to 13,680 in 2050 to 15,324 by 2100, including 57–63% of birds, 47–52% of mammals, 28–36% of reptiles, and 20–24% of amphibians. In Southeast Asia, inland inundation areas support high richness. Under SSP5-8.5, species facing >10% habitat inundation surges from 18 in 2050 to 109 by 2100, with reptiles and already threatened species overrepresented. Safeguarding SLR refugia, the non-inundated habitats for exposed species, is critical, yet over 96% lie outside protected areas, demanding early international action.

Science
Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Nanyang Technological University (SG), University of Bremen (DE), Shenzhen University (CN), Princeton University (US), Virginia Sea Grant (US), University of Lincoln (GB), Carleton University (CA)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Life on land, Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Species Distribution and Climate Change
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Safeguarding global terrestrial vertebrate species from future sea-level rise — Jeffrey O. Hanson, David S. Wilcove, et al. · Science (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS