Ozeanerwärmung treibt zahlreiche Tierarten vom Äquator zu den Polen tierwelt.ch - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tierwelt.ch Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Marine life is fleeing the equator to cooler waters - history shows this could trigger a mass extinction event
8 Apr, 2021 05:20 AM
6 minutes to read As our oceans warm, marine species have tracked their preferred temperatures by moving towards the poles. Photo / File As our oceans warm, marine species have tracked their preferred temperatures by moving towards the poles. Photo / File
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When the same thing happened 252 million years ago, 90 per cent of all marine species died, write Anthony Richardson, Chhaya Chaudhary, David Schoeman and Mark John Costello for The Conversation.
The tropical water at the equator is renowned for having the richest diversity of marine life on Earth, with vibrant coral reefs and large aggregations of tuna, sea turtles, manta rays and whale sharks. The number of marine species naturally tapers off as you head towards the poles.
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(Photo : Theodor Vasile Unsplash)
An analysis of nearly 50,000 aquatic species shifting positions between 1955 and 2015 showed that a projected effect of global warming - species moving away from the equator - can now be seen on a worldwide scale.
Lessening Biodiversity
(Photo : Pixabay)
It said that more global warming, which is now imminent, would further reduce the diversity of biodiversity in tropical oceans.
The results of the change, according to scientists, may be dramatic and difficult to foresee.
Unpredictable Changes
According to Prof David Schoeman, a co-author of the report, species attached to the ocean floor had not diminished. Still, the diversity of free-swimming species such as fish had decreased dramatically between 1965 and 2010.
Marine species flee the equator
Warming waters are triggering a mass exodus of marine creatures from the tropics.
Credit: Andrew Olds.
A new global study reveals that the biodiversity of marine species around the equator has dropped, as warming seas force tropical species south into already faltering ecosystems.
The research team, led by the University of Auckland in collaboration with the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), the University of Queensland and CSIRO, examined the distribution data of 48,661 marine species since 1955.
The alarming results, published in the journal PNAS, confirm that climate change is impacting species diversity across latitudes, with the number of species levelling off or declining at latitudes with average sea surface temperatures exceeding 20°C.