Warming oceans
will have a significant impact on
marine biodiversity. Image: Nick Graham
(August 24, 2015) New
research into the impact of climate change has found that warming oceans will
cause profound changes in the global distribution of marine biodiversity.
In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change an
international research team modelled the impacts of a changing climate on the
distribution of almost 13 thousand marine species, more than twelve times as
many species as previously studied.
The study found that a rapidly warming climate would cause
many species to expand into new regions, which would impact on native species,
while others with restricted ranges, particularly those around the tropics, are
more likely to face extinction.
Extinctions will
be more likely in tropical areas as
ocean temperatures rise. Image: Simon Foale
Professor John Pandolfi from the ARC Centre of Excellence
for Coral Reef Studies at the University of Queensland says global patterns of
species richness will change significantly, with considerable regional
variability.
“This study was particularly useful because it not only gave
us hope that species have the potential to track and follow changing climates
but it also gave us cause for concern, particularly in the tropics, where
strong biodiversity losses were predicted,” says Professor Pandolfi.
“This is especially worrying, and highly germane to
Australia’s coral reefs, because complementary studies have shown high levels
of extinction risk in tropical biotas, where localized human impacts as well as
climate change have resulted in substantial degradation.”