The global distribution of primary production and consumption by humans (fisheries) is well-documented, but we have no map linking the central ecological process of consumption within food webs to temperature and other ecological drivers. Using standardized assays that span 105° of latitude on four continents, we show that rates of bait consumption by generalist predators in shallow marine ecosystems are tightly linked to both temperature and the composition of consumer assemblages. Unexpectedly, rates of consumption peaked at midlatitudes (25 to 35°) in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres across both seagrass and unvegetated sediment habitats. This pattern contrasts with terrestrial systems, where biotic interactions reportedly weaken away from the equator, but it parallels an emerging pattern of a subtropical peak in marine biodiversity. The higher consumption at midlatitudes was closely related to the type of consumers present, which explained rates of consumption better than consumer density, biomass, species diversity, or habitat. Indeed, the apparent effect of temperature on consumption was mostly driven by temperature-associated turnover in consumer community composition. Our findings reinforce the key influence of climate warming on altered species composition and highlight its implications for the functioning of Earth’s ecosystems.

人类（渔业）的初级生产和消费的全球分布有据可查，但我们没有地图将食物网中的中央消费生态过程与温度和其他生态驱动因素联系起来。使用跨越四大洲纬度105°的标准化分析方法，我们显示了浅水海洋生态系统中通才捕食者的饵料消耗速率与温度和消费者组合的组成紧密相关。出乎意料的是，北半球和南半球的海草和无植被沉积物生境的消耗率在中纬度（25至35°）达到峰值。这种模式与陆地系统形成对照，据报道该系统的生物相互作用从赤道处减弱，但与海洋生物多样性中亚热带峰的新兴模式平行。中纬度地区较高的消费与当前的消费者类型密切相关，这比消费密度，生物量，物种多样性或栖息地更好地解释了消费率。实际上，温度对消费的明显影响主要是由消费者社区组成中与温度相关的周转所驱动的。我们的发现加强了气候变暖对物种组成变化的关键影响，并突出了其对地球生态系统功能的影响。