CM
6/3/2020
Frontiers
Aaron Moring D'angier
One of the eight Grand Challenges in Marine Ecosystem Ecology is Anticipating the effect of climate change on biodiversity. This is key to understanding how to help preserve fragile marine ecosystems. Climate change is affecting the ocean in many ways including temperature change, current change, and acidification. All of these changes can be detrimental to marine life living in the areas affected by climate change. Studies have shown that the areas of most concerns in regards to climate change are some of the richest areas of biodiversity in the oceans. Also, Temperature affects marine life which will cause mass migrations before mass extinction happens. These studies show that even currently, climate change is already making a big impact on marine ecosystems today. By researching how climate change is affecting biodiversity currently, scientists can more accurately predict how global climate change will shape the future of marine biodiversity.
Climate change affects biodiversity. While the oceans continue to get warmer, the marine life that depends on the ocean to live are having to make adjustments. According to Beaugrand, “Climate change will permanently affect species loss in certain areas” (2015). In certain areas of the ocean, species loss could and will be detrimental to the entire ecosystem. If one species dies off or is no longer as populous as they once were, this can offset the entire marine ecosystem in that area. Certain species that rely on the extinct species for food will also be impacted. According to Hillebrand, “Local marine biodiversity shows what can happen in a broader community with changes in biodiversity” (2017). By studying one specific area closely, scientists can make an estimate on how climate change and other factors will affect biodiversity on a much larger level globally. “Anticipating the effect of climate change on biodiversity is crucial for adaptive management of ecosystems.” (Molinos et al, 2016). By anticipating the effects of climate change, a plan of action can be set in place to be better prepared to manage fragile ecosystems.
Warming of the planet will affect species globally. According to Beaugrand, “Minor warming is expected to have a minor influence on biodiversity. Moderate warming is the biggest concern.” (2015) While minor changes in temperature will go mostly unnoticed, sudden more extreme rates of temperature change could be detrimental to marine life globally. “More extreme warming at the poles means a probable mass migration of marine life.” (Hillebrand et al, 2016) With colder temperatures at the poles year-round, climate change has the most profound impact on these regions. With polar ice melt, not only marine life is suffering but also the animals who live on the ice. Hillebrand expects to see a mass migration of species from the poles in search of colder waters. With all of the oceans warming, he also expects to see species loss due to temperature. “These results strongly suggest that the millennial stability of current global marine diversity patterns, against which conservation plans are assessed, will change rapidly over the course of the century in response to ocean warming.” (Molinos et al, 2016) Plans have to adapt to the ever-changing climate change crisis in order to help marine life.
Marine animals are very sensitive to temperature change. Marine animals rely on consistency in their temperatures in order to live. With the changing temperatures, especially in the poles, it is becoming harder and harder for these animals to live where they do. According to Hillebrand, “These responses comprise adaptation and phenotypic plasticity as well as range shifts. The observed range shifts show more rapid shifts at the poleward range edge than at the equator-near edge, which probably reflects more rapid immigration than extinction in a warming world.” (2017). Animals will start to migrate from where they originally were to other areas of the ocean. Hillebrand thinks that this mass migration will happen before any mass extinction.
Comparing climate change throughout history will give a clearer view of biodiversity in the future. According to Descombes, “We found that under the RCP 8.5 climate change scenario, the global suitability for coral reefs may increase up to 16% by 2100, mostly due to improved suitability of higher latitudes. In contrast, in its current range, coral reef suitability may decrease up to 46% by 2100” (2015). By studying what is happening in marine biodiversity now, a more accurate idea of what the future of marine biodiversity can be created. “Sea surface temperatures during the Eocene epoch were warmer than forecasted changes for the coming century, and distributions of corals during the Eocene may help to inform models forecasting the future of coral reefs” (Descombes et al, 2015). Current models are showing the effect of climate change on marine life currently. By doing this research, the future is better understood. “Overall, these hot spots of marine biodiversity coincide with areas most severely affected by global warming. In particular, these marine biodiversity hot spots have undergone local to regional increasing water temperatures, slowing current circulation, and decreasing primary productivity” (Ramirez et al, 2015).
Biodiversity is essential for a healthy ecosystem. According to Beaugrand, “Our results indicate that local species loss will be a prominent phenomenon of climate warming in permanently stratified regions and that local species invasion will prevail in temperate and polar biomes under all climate change scenarios” (2015). These are examples of how biodiversity will be impacted by global climate change. According to Descombes, “Coral bleaching events threaten coral reef habitats globally and cause severe declines of local biodiversity and productivity. Related to high sea surface temperatures (SST), bleaching events are expected to increase as a consequence of future global warming.” (2015) With a lack of biodiversity, the ecosystems will suffer. “High extirpation rates are expected regionally (for example, Indo-Pacific), particularly under RCP8.5, leading to strong decreases in richness and the anticipated formation of no-analogue communities where invasions are common. The spatial congruence of these patterns with contemporary human impacts 7,8 highlights potential areas of future conservation concern. These results strongly suggest that the millennial stability of current global marine diversity patterns, against which conservation plans are assessed, will change rapidly over the course of the century in response to ocean warming.” (Molinos et al, 2016). Species invasion is a threat to marine ecosystems. With migration, more species will migrate and interact with other species. This could have a negative impact on marine life in the area. According to Ramirez, “Concerningly, some of the richest areas of biodiversity overlap with the locations most impacted by climate change.”(2017). Action needs to be taken soon in order to prevent catastrophic damage to marine ecosystems.
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| "Climate Effects On Marine Biodiversity." ECHO Action. (2017) |
Beaugrand, Gregory et al. “Future vulnerability of marine biodiversity compared with contemporary and past changes.” Nature.com. Springer Research. 1, June 2015. Web. 3, June 2020.
Descombes, Patrice et al.“Forecasted coral reef decline in marine biodiversity hotspots under climate change.” Wiley Online Library. Wiley & Sons. 21, January 2015. Web. 4, June 2020.
Hillebrand, Helmut et al. “Climate Change: Warming Impacts on Marine Biodiversity.” Springer Link. Springer Research. 16, August 2017. Web. 4, June 2020.
Molinos, Jose Garcia et al. “Climate velocity and the future global redistribution of marine biodiversity” Nature.com. Springer Research. 31, August 2015. Web. 3, June 2020.
Ramirez, Francisco et al. “Climate impacts on global hot spots of marine biodiversity.” Science Advances. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 22, February 2017. Web. 4, June 2020.
In conclusion, I am happy with how this project and class turned out. I enjoyed this class more than I have any class in a while. It's refreshing to learn about something that I am interested in. I found it a bit difficult to get started on this project, but once I got started it was pretty easy. I struggled with motivation to complete this project. Mostly because it's the very end of the term and I just wanted to be done. I'm proud of myself for completing my last action project at GCE. Now time for graduation!
