Original story by Bill Hoffman, Sunshine Coast Daily
THE reality of climate change, which is already dramatically affecting the distribution of marine life, will ultimately become impossible for humans to ignore.
That’s the personal view of University of the Sunshine Coast scientist David Schoeman, who has contributed to a three-year study which found that warming oceans are driving changes in breeding patterns and the geographic distribution of marine organisms, pushing them rapidly towards the north and south poles.
The biostatistics expert said the shift would lead to rapid changes in the hierarchy of the food chain as climate pinch points forced both environmental shifts and biological changes.
More tropical species will be seen off our own coastline. Whether that will include deadly marine stingers from Australia’s northern tropics would be influenced by a range of factors.
Dr Schoeman contributed to a three-year study led by the CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship and University of Queensland marine ecologists Dr Elvira Poloczanska and Associate Professor Anthony Richardson into the impacts of ocean warming, which was occurring at a third of the rate as on land.
Until now most studies had focused on the response of land-based organisms with little research into impacts on marine life.
However the temperature impacts in the ocean are profound.
The study discovered species shifting towards the poles at the rate of 72km every 10 years compared with 6km each decade on land.
Stocks of key recreational and commercial species are expected to be compromised.
Dr Schoeman said organisms at the bottom of the food chain with shorter life spans were adapting quicker than fish, which would quickly lead to changes in the food chain.
Dr Schoeman said areas like the Sunshine and Gold Coast were climate change hot spots.
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