An international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Adelaide has revealed that rates of future warming threaten marine life in more than 70 per cent of the most biodiverse-rich areas of Earth’s oceans.
An international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Adelaide has revealed that rates of future warming threaten marine life in more than 70 per cent of the most biodiverse-rich areas of Earth’s oceans.
“Our research shows that locations with exceptionally high marine biodiversity are the most exposed to future oceanic warming, making them particularly vulnerable to 21st century climatic change,” said lead author Dr Stuart Brown from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute
“This is because species living in these biodiverse regions are generally ill-equipped to respond to large changes in temperature.”
Using a new technique for comparing past and future extreme rates of oceanic warming, the researchers were able to map global exposure to future climate change and establish distances that plants and animals in vulnerable areas need to move to track suitable climatic conditions.
Read more at University of Adelaide
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