Healthy marine ecosystems provide critical benefits to people worldwide, but increasing threats from climate change and human activities disrupt ecosystem functionality and put these benefits at risk. Local and regional assessments have shown these impacts can be substantial, but we lack a global assessment of risk to marine biodiversity. Here we assessed risk of impact by intersecting spatial distributions of 21,267 marine animal species with distributions of 13 anthropogenic stressors according to each species’ vulnerability, examining results through multiple lenses that connect to different conservation objectives: species, taxon, and functional vulnerability. Using this species-focused approach, we found that vulnerable functional entities in coastal ecosystems across all marine ecological provinces are at greater risk of impact than indicated by assessments of broader ecosystem-level impact risk based on vulnerability of representative habitats, driven largely by climate stressors. Where multiple lenses of impact assessment indicate elevated risk, broad area-based protections may be warranted, but where impacts are focused on vulnerable functional entities there may be opportunities for more narrowly targeted conservation strategies such as local habitat restoration, assisted migration, or fishing gear restrictions. These results provide key insights at local to global scales on where and how to best meet conservation of species diversity and ecosystem function.

Understanding range edges is key to addressing fundamental biogeographic questions about abiotic and biotic drivers of species distributions. Range edges are where colonization and extirpation happen, so their dynamics are also important for natural resource management and conservation. We quantified positions for 153 range edges of marine fishes and invertebrates from three US continental shelf regions using decades of survey data and a spatiotemporal model to account for changes in survey design. We analyzed whether range edges maintained their edge thermal niches—temperature extremes at the range edge—over time. Most range edges (86%) maintained either cold or warm temperature extremes; 73% maintained both. However, the substantial fraction of range edges that altered their thermal niche underscore the multiplicity of relevant drivers. This study suggests that temperate marine species largely maintained their edge thermal niches during rapid change and provides a blueprint for testing temperature tracking of species range edges.

A growing body of literature has documented myriad effects of human activities on animal behavior, yet the ultimate ecological consequences of these behavioral shifts remain largely uninvestigated. While it is understood that, in the absence of humans, variation in animal behavior can have cascading effects on species interactions, community structure, and ecosystem function, we know little about whether the type or magnitude of human-induced behavioral shifts translate into meaningful ecological change. Here we synthesize empirical literature and theory to create a novel framework for examining the range of behaviorally mediated pathways through which human activities may affect different ecosystem functions. We highlight the few empirical studies that show the potential realization of some of these pathways, but also identify numerous factors that can dampen or prevent ultimate ecosystem consequences. Without a deeper understanding of these pathways, we risk wasting valuable resources on mitigating behavioral effects with little ecological relevance, or conversely mismanaging situations in which behavioral effects do drive ecosystem change. The framework presented here can be used to anticipate the nature and likelihood of ecological outcomes and prioritize management among widespread human-induced behavioral shifts, while also suggesting key priorities for future research linking humans, animal behavior, and ecology.