The rate of marine biodiversity loss is higher today than ever before, with various species struggling to adapt to the changes inflicted on their habitat by humans. Most scientists agree that one of the greatest man-made hazards to this plant and animal diversity in our oceans is global warming, scientists agree. Though scientists are not sure just how the effects of global warming will affect marine life in the future, the rise of ocean temperatures and sea levels already poses a danger to oceanic biodiversity.
Increasing levels of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions are released into the atmosphere by vehicles, factories and farms. These gases trap the earth's heat, which then warms the planet as a whole, including the ocean. As ocean temperatures rise as a result of the warming, multiple species of marine animals that require specific temperatures for their habitat will be forced to shift their normal locations. However, some species will be unable to relocate due to various barriers, and will have to either adapt to the warmer climate or risk extinction. And when one species dies out, this will greatly affect the other marine life that depends upon it. Already, we see many types of marine mammals being prodded further and further into northern waters to find an appropriate habitat, and someday soon these animals will have nowhere else to turn.
Global warming has caused significant glacier melting over the past few decades, and the subsequent increases in sea level have an effect on coastal ecosystems and the species that depend on these habitats to live. With the proposed building of sea walls in these coastal areas to protect human communities, marine animal species are threatened, as their normal migration routes toward feeding and breeding areas will likely need to be altered.
Warmer temperatures are also predicted to change the ocean's areas of great primary productivity, where marine plant and animal life thrive and where sea mammals come to find prey. Since the population and health of marine mammals depend on their prey, these changed feeding locations will greatly affect marine animal activity, as they search for food in other places and adjust their migration routes accordingly. Additionally, as ocean warmth continues to rise and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed, marine biodiversity is predicted to suffer further due to an increase in acidity in the water.
Tags: affect marine, global warming, greatly affect, marine animal, marine biodiversity, marine life
