An increase in ocean water temperatures due to global warming has forced many marine species to shift homes and their breeding times.
A study conducted by 17 institutions across the world including the University of Queensland, Plymouth University, Aberystwyth University and the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) found that global warming is affecting marine species more than land species. Researchers observed widespread systemic shifts in the distribution of species and their phenology, which were greater among marine species than land species.
"This is the first comprehensive documentation of what is happening in our marine systems in relation to climate change. What it reveals is that the changes that are occurring on land are being matched by the oceans. And far from being a buffer and displaying more minor changes, what we're seeing is a far stronger response from the oceans," said Professor Camille Parmesan, who claimed that while the finding of the study was simple, it carried an important message.
For the study, researchers looked at a database of 1,735 changes in marine life and found that 81 percent of these changes took place as a result of global warming. Researchers observed that warmer oceans have forced marine species like phytoplankton, zooplankton and bony fish to shift homes. These species are currently moving toward the poles at an average rate of 72 kms per decade. This rate is quite disturbing when compared to the natural average rate of 6 kms per decade.
Shifts in phenology, the timing of nature's calendar, also provide evidence of how global warming is affecting marine life. Researchers found that spring phenology in the oceans had advanced by more than four days.
"Our research has shown that a wide range of marine organisms, which inhabit the intertidal to the deep-sea, and are found from the poles to the tropics, have responded to recent climate change by changing their distribution, phenology or demography," Dr Pippa Moore, Lecturer in Aquatic Biology from Aberystwyth University, said in a statement. "These results highlight the urgent need for governments around the globe to develop adaptive management plans to ensure the continued sustainability of the world's oceans and the goods and services they provide to human society."
