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Coral Reef Arks: An In Situ Mesocosm and Toolkit for Assembling Reef Communities

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Novel ecosystems: altering fish assemblages in warming waters.

Alastair R Harborne¹, Peter J Mumby

¹Marine Spatial Ecology Laboratory, Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hatherly Laboratory, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK. A.R.Harborne@exeter.ac.uk

Current Biology : CB

|October 15, 2011

Summary

Rising sea temperatures significantly impact marine ecosystems. Changes in fish populations due to warming waters will alter ecosystem structure, function, and services.

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Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Oceanography
Ecosystem Ecology

Background:

Global sea temperatures are rising due to climate change.
Marine ecosystems are sensitive to thermal variations.
Species distribution shifts are a known consequence of ocean warming.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the broader ecological impacts of increasing sea temperatures beyond species distribution.
To understand how altered fish abundances affect marine ecosystem structure and function.
To assess the consequences for marine ecosystem services.

Main Methods:

Analysis of existing ecological data on fish abundance and sea temperature.
Modeling of ecosystem structure and function under different temperature scenarios.
Evaluation of ecosystem services potentially affected by altered fish populations.

Main Results:

Increasing sea temperatures cause significant alterations in local fish abundances.
These changes in fish populations have profound effects on marine ecosystem structure.
The functioning and services of marine ecosystems are demonstrably impacted by temperature-driven fish abundance shifts.

Conclusions:

The effects of rising sea temperatures on marine ecosystems are multifaceted, impacting more than just species ranges.
Altered fish abundances are a critical mechanism through which ocean warming affects ecosystem dynamics.
Marine ecosystem services are at risk due to the cascading effects of increasing sea temperatures on fish populations.