Climate change ‘to lead to collapse of food chain in world’s oceans’

The world’s oceans are teeming with life, but rising carbon dioxide emissions could cause a collapse in the marine food chain from the top down, researchers in Australia said.

The first-of-its-kind global analysis of marine responses to climate change forecasts a grim future for fish.

Marine ecologists from the University of Adelaide reviewed more than 600 published studies on coral reefs, kelp forests, open oceans, and tropical and arctic waters.

Their meta-analysis, published in the October 12 edition of the US peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that ocean acidification and warming would cut down on the diversity and numbers of various key species.

“This ‘simplification’ of our oceans will have profound consequences for our current way of life, particularly for coastal populations and those that rely on oceans for food and trade,” said associate professor and co-author Ivan Nagelkerken.

Very few organisms are expected to be able to adjust to warmer waters and acidification, with the exception of microorganisms, which are expected to increase in number and diversity.