Shrinking of fishes exacerbates impacts of global ocean changes on marine ecosystems

Cheung, William W. L.; Sarmiento, Jorge L.; Dunne, John; Frölicher, Thomas L.; Lam, Vicky W. Y.; Palomares, M.L.D.; Watson, Reg; Pauly, Daniel

doi:10.1038/nclimate1691

Cited by 590 publications

(594 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Some effects will be direct; for example, we expect alterations in the distributions and health of open-ocean and deep-sea fish populations and commercially exploited stocks. This impact will result from warming-induced changes in metabolism (Deutsch et al, 2015) and body size (Cheung et al, 2013) linked to latitudinal or depth shifts in species distributions, in addition to vertical habitat compression from OMZ expansions (Prince and Goodyear, 2006;Stramma et al, 2010Stramma et al, , 2012. Less clear are the impacts of acidification stress and multiple stressors on deep-sea fish populations and fisheries production (Rosa and Seibel, 2008).…”

Section: Implications Of Climate Forcing On Societal Uses and Values mentioning

confidence: 99%

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

Sweetman

Thurber

Smith

et al. 2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

282

297

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The deep sea encompasses the largest ecosystems on Earth. Although poorly known, deep seafloor ecosystems provide services that are vitally important to the entire ocean and biosphere. Rising atmospheric greenhouse gases are bringing about significant changes in the environmental properties of the ocean realm in terms of water column oxygenation, temperature, pH and food supply, with concomitant impacts on deep-sea ecosystems. Projections suggest that abyssal (3000-6000 m) ocean temperatures could increase by 1°C over the next 84 years, while abyssal seafloor habitats under areas of deep-water formation may experience reductions in water column oxygen concentrations by as much as 0.03 mL L -1 by 2100. Bathyal depths (200-3000 m) worldwide will undergo the most significant reductions in pH in all oceans by the year 2100 (0.29 to 0.37 pH units). O 2 concentrations will also decline in the bathyal NE Pacific and Southern Oceans, with losses up to 3.7% or more, especially at intermediate depths. Another important environmental parameter, the flux of particulate organic matter to the seafloor, is likely to decline significantly in most oceans, most notably in the abyssal and bathyal Indian Ocean where it is predicted to decrease by 40-55% by the end of the century. Unfortunately, how these major changes will affect deep-seafloor ecosystems is, in some cases, very poorly understood. In this paper, we provide a detailed overview of the impacts of these changing environmental parameters on deep-seafloor ecosystems that will most likely be seen by 2100 in continental margin, abyssal and polar settings. We also consider how these changes may combine with other anthropogenic stressors (e.g., fishing, mineral mining, oil and gas extraction) to further impact deep-seafloor ecosystems and discuss the possible societal implications.

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Section: Implications Of Climate Forcing On Societal Uses and Values mentioning

confidence: 99%

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

Sweetman

Thurber

Smith

et al. 2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

282

297

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“…Ocean warming and shifts in net primary production are likely to drive remaining fish and shellfish species from low to high latitudes, potentially reducing catch globally by more than 6% and by as much as 30% in some regions (such as the tropics) by 2050 relative to recent decades 5 . Fish will also probably get smaller in the tropics: ocean warming and associated declines in oxygen content are projected to reduce the average biomass of fish communities by around 20% during this period 6 . Coral reefs, essential ecosystems for many tropical coastal subsistence and artisanal fisheries, will be heavily degraded by warming and ocean acidification.…”

Section: Perfect Stormmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrition: Fall in fish catch threatens human health

Golden

Allison

Cheung

et al. 2016

Nature

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518

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“…Jackson et al 2001, Myers & Worm 2003, Baum & Worm 2009, Estes et al 2011, Cheung et al 2013, and as changes associated with climate modification increase (e.g. Thomas et al 2004, Cheung et al 2013, Smith et al 2014b, such systems will likely be increasingly difficult to study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%