A 15-year period ending in 2020 that included a marine heat wave and a sea star wasting disease epidemic saw major changes in the groups of organisms that live along the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest.
A 15-year period ending in 2020 that included a marine heat wave and a sea star wasting disease epidemic saw major changes in the groups of organisms that live along the rocky shores of the Pacific Northwest.
The study by Oregon State University scientists, involving four capes in Oregon and California, suggests these communities of species may have low resilience to climate change. Findings were published Monday in Nature Ecology & Evolution.
Researchers learned that sessile invertebrates – those that stay in one place, such as mussels and barnacles – became more abundant during the study period, while seaweed species like kelps declined.
Read more at: Oregon State University
Zechariah Meunier of OSU conducts rocky shore surveys in California. Photo by Risa Askerooth. (Photo Credit: Risa Askerooth)
