Niche comparison and range shifts for two Kappaphycus species in the Indo-Pacific Ocean under climate change

•MaxEnt algorithm performs best in modeling Kappaphycus distribution.•The rise of sea surface temperature is the main cause of the future range shift of two Kappaphycus species.•Kappaphycus species show different range shifts driven by the climate change.•Two Kappaphycus species display niche divergence.•Results provide reasonable suggestions on management and conservation strategies.