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Depleted Marine Ecosystems
- Healthy Coral Reef (Seaweb/Mohammed Al Momany)
Scientists predict many ecosystems will be greatly altered or collapse altogether as a response to global warming. The spread of diseases will increase as warmer climates create more hospitable environments for disease carrying agents. Some species may shift to cooler areas in an attempt to avoid rising temperatures, these forced migrations will cause the interlinked elements within ecosystems to become vulnerable or fall apart. Other species that are unable to shift, or find themselves without food because their food sources have shifted, may become extinct. Experts suggest that one quarter of the world's species may face extinction by 2050. As species are forced out of their habitats by changing conditions, it is likely that pest and nuisance species will move in and take their place, disrupting ecosystems even further.
The future of many marine ecosystems as we know them is in question. Because of global warming ecosystems are likely to become less diverse and will be less able to deal with other threats, such as over-fishing and bottom trawling, which could result in their destruction.
OCEAN FERTILIZATION PROVES TO BE INEFFECTIVE
After a 45-day experiment, scientists working on the controversial ocean iron fertilization program, LOHAFEX, have reported the experiment to be an ineffective solution to climate change. The theory behind ocean fertilization is that the dumping of large amounts of iron in the ocean will spur phytoplankton blooms, which will draw in carbon dioxide as they grow. It has been suggested that as these blooms die and fall to the ocean depths they will carry with them this carbon and sequester it away from the atmosphere, thereby reducing the driver of climate change. The LOHAFEX scientists found that following the dumping of iron into the ocean, a phytoplankton bloom did take place, but was also followed by an increase in the population of zooplankton which ate most of the new phytoplankton, thereby preventing it from falling to the ocean floor. Iron fertilization is also likely to disrupt marine ecosystems and even exacerbate ocean acidification; as a result this ineffective method of sequestering carbon dioxide should be taken off the table as a strategy for mitigating climate change.
To learn more about the LOHAFEX experiment visit the projects website at the National Institute of Oceanography. To learn more about the conclusion of the experiment, read an article in Greenwire (subscription required).