Ecological complexity represents a network of interacting components that either propagate or counter the effects of environmental change on individuals and communities^1,2,3. Yet, our understanding of the ecological imprint of ocean acidification (elevated CO₂) and climate change (elevated temperature) is largely based on reports of negative effects on single species in simplified laboratory systems^4,5. By combining a large mesocosm experiment with a global meta-analysis, we reveal the capacity of consumers (fish and crustaceans) to resist the impacts of elevated CO₂. While individual behaviours were impaired by elevated CO₂, consumers could restore their performances in more complex environments that allowed for compensatory processes. Consequently, consumers maintained key traits such as foraging, habitat selection and predator avoidance despite elevated CO₂ and sustained their populations. Our observed increase in risk-taking under elevated temperature, however, predicts greater vulnerability of consumers to predation. Yet, CO₂ as a resource boosted the biomass of consumers through species interactions and may stabilize communities by countering the negative effects of elevated temperature. We conclude that compensatory dynamics inherent in the complexity of nature can buffer the impacts of future climate on species and their communities.

生态复杂性代表相互作用的组成部分的网络，这些相互作用的组成部分传播或抵消环境变化对个人和社区^{1,2,3的影响}。然而，我们对海洋酸化（CO ₂升高）和气候变化（温度升高）的生态烙印的理解很大程度上是基于简化实验室系统^4,5对单一物种的负面影响的报道。通过将大型中观试验与全球荟萃分析相结合，我们揭示了消费者（鱼类和甲壳类动物）抵抗CO ₂升高影响的能力。虽然个人行为会因CO ₂升高而受损，消费者可以在允许补偿程序的更为复杂的环境中恢复其性能。因此，尽管CO ₂含量升高并维持了种群数量，但消费者仍保持关键特征，例如觅食，栖息地选择和避免捕食者。然而，我们观察到在高温下冒险行为的增加，预示着消费者更容易遭受捕食。然而，CO ₂作为一种资源通过物种相互作用增加了消费者的生物量，并可以通过抵抗高温的负面影响来稳定社区。我们得出结论，自然复杂性所固有的补偿动力可以缓冲未来气候对物种及其群落的影响。