Global warming, an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes

corresponding changes in climate, is a growing environmental issue caused by the influx

of human industry and agriculture in the mid-twentieth-century to the present. As
greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane are released into the atmosphere, a shield
forms around our Earth, trapping heat inside of our planet and therefore creating a
general warming effect. One of the most influenced territories of warming has been our
oceans.

Rising air temperatures affect the physical nature of our oceans. As air temperatures rise,
water becomes less dense and separates from a nutrient-filled cold layer below. This is
the basis for a chain effect that impacts all marine life who count on these nutrients for
survival.

There are two general physical effects of ocean warming on marine populations that are
crucial to consider:

• Changes in natural habitats and food supply

• Changing ocean chemistry/acidification

Changes in Natural Habitats and Food Supply

Photosynthesis

Phytoplankton, one-celled plants that live at the ocean surface, and algae use
photosynthesis for nutrient fulfillment. Photosynthesis is a process that removes carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere and converts it into organic carbon and oxygen that feeds
almost every ecosystem. According to a recent NASA study, phytoplankton is more
likely to thrive in cooler oceans. Similarly, algae, a plant that produces food for other
marine life through photosynthesis, is vanishing due to ocean warming. Since oceans are
warmer, nutrients are blocked from traveling upward to these suppliers that are limited to
a small surface layer and therefore cannot supplement marine life with necessary organic
carbon and oxygen.

Yearly Growth Cycles

Various plants and animals in our oceans need both a temperature and light balance in
order to thrive. Temperature-driven creatures, such as Phytoplankton, have started their
yearly growth cycle earlier in the season due to warming oceans. Light-driven creatures
start their yearly growth cycle around the same time. Since Phytoplankton is thriving in
earlier seasons, the entire food chain is affected. Animals that once traveled to the surface
for food are now finding an area void of nutrients and light-driven creatures are starting
their growth cycles at different times. This creates a non-synchronous natural
environment.

Migration
The warming of oceans may also lead to migration of organisms along the east and west
coasts. Heat-tolerant species, such as shrimp, will expand northward, while heat-
intolerant species, such as clams and flounder, will retreat northward. This migration will
lead to a new mix of organisms in an entirely new environment, ultimately causing
changes in predatory habits. If some organisms cannot adapt to their new marine
environment, they will not flourish and die off.

Changing Ocean Chemistry/Acidification

General Acidification

As carbon dioxide is being released into the ocean, the ocean chemistry drastically
changes. Greater CO2 concentrations released into our oceans create increased ocean
acidity. As ocean acidity increases, Phytoplankton is reduced. This results in less ocean
plants able to uptake greenhouse gases. Also, increased ocean acidity threatens marine
life, such as corals and shellfish, which may become extinct later this century from the
chemical effects of CO2.

Acidification Effect on Coral Reefs

Coral, one of the leading sources for the ocean's food and livelihood, is also changing
with the onset of global warming. Naturally, coral secretes tiny shells of calcium
carbonate in order to form its skeleton. Yet, as CO2 from global warming is released into
the atmosphere, acidification increases and the carbonate ions vanish. This results in
lower extension rates or weaker skeletons in most corals.

Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching, the breakdown in the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae, is
also occurring with warmer ocean temperatures. Since Zooxanthellae, or algae, give coral
its particular coloration, increased CO2 in our oceans causes coral stress and a release of
this algae. This leads to a lighter appearance. When this relationship that is so important
for our ecosystem to survive vanishes, corals begin to weaken. Consequently, food and
habitats for a great number of marine life are also destroyed.

Holocene Climatic Optimum

This drastic climate change and its effect on surrounding wildlife is not news to us. The
Holocene Climatic Optimum, a general warming period displayed in our fossil record
from 9,000 to 5,000 B.P., proves that climate change can directly impact nature's
inhabitants. In 10,500 B.P., younger dryas, a plant that was once spread throughout the
world in various cold climates, became near extinct due to this warming period. Towards
the end of the warming period, this plant that so much of nature had depended on was
only to be found in the few areas that remained cold. Just as younger dryas became scarce
in the past, Phytoplankton, coral reefs, and the marine life that depend on them are
becoming scarce in the present. Our environment is continuing on a circular path that
may soon lead to chaos within a once naturally balanced environment.

Future Outlook and Human Effects

The warming of our oceans and its effect on marine life has a direct impact on us. As
coral reefs die, we will lose an entire ecological habitat of fish. According to the World
Wildlife Fund, a small increase of two degrees Celsius would destroy almost all existing
coral reefs. Additionally, ocean circulation changes due to warming would have
disastrous impacts on marine fisheries.

This drastic impact is often hard to imagine. It can only be related to a similar historical
event. Fifty-five million years ago, ocean acidification led to a mass extinction of ocean
creatures. According to our fossil record, it took more than 100,000 years for the oceans
to recover. Eliminating the use of greenhouse gases and protecting our oceans will
prevent this from reoccurring.

From tropical coral reefs to polar-ice edge communities, and from tiny
zooplankton to polar bears, scientists have documented worrying declines in
marine life which they believed could be at attributed, at least partly, to the
impact of global warming.

The report was based on an extensive review of studies and a meeting earlier
this year of some of the world's leading marine researchers. It said that warmer
surface air temperatures, which most scientists blamed on the emission of
greenhouse gases, also were gradually warming the world's oceans.

Surface water temperature had risen by about one degree Celsius over the past
century and were expected to increase by up to

another three degrees in the next 100 years if emissions - caused mainly by the
burning of fossil fuels like oil and gas - continued at current rates.

Marine life already was threatened by a number of human activities, the report
pointed out. Overfishing had resulted in the collapse of major fisheries, and
destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling had devastated the habitat of the
sea floor.

Coastal development and other activities that resulted in the pollution of coastal
waters had converted whole ares of the oceans into so-called "dead zones,"
while the invasion of alien species, often carried in ships' ballast water to distant
habitats, has wiped out many native marine species around the world.

"Global climate change is an additional stress on already stressed species and

ecosystems, and may be the 'straw that breaks the camel's back' for many types
of marine life," according to the 47-page report.
The increasingly frequent appearance of the El Nino weather phenomenon
during the past 20 years provided a glimpse into the impact that can be expected
from long-term global warming, the report said.

El Nino results from changes in atmospheric pressure in the Pacific Ocean and is
associated with higher sea surface temperatures and sea levels, lower nutrients,
and increased intensity of storms and storm surges.

Recent El Ninos have proved lethal to marine life, with the death of up to 98% of
coral reefs in some regions. El Nino also has wreaked havoc in stocks of
sardines and anchovies in Perua, marine iguanas and kelp forests off California
and some species of seals, sea lions and seabirds.

Some scientists believe that global warming itself may be increasing the
frequency of El Nino.

It occurred in five of the first seven years of the 1990's, a sharp increase from its
pattern of the previous 7,000 years of every two to 8.5 years. The 1997-98 El
Nino was the strongest on record.

Rising marine temperatures, according to the report, influence all kinds of ocean
conditions, including sea levels, critical to the survival of microscopic
phytoplankton, the base of the food web; and the circulation of the deep ocean
between the poles and the tropics.

Because polar regions will experience the greatest overall temperature change
from global warming, the biological impacts - many of which have already been
observed - will be greatest there.

Sea ice, which provides a platform for many marine mammals and penguins, as
well as a surface for algae that produce phytoplankton, is diminishing in both the
Arctic and the Antarctic, according to the report.

"As this area diminishes, so does the food available to each higher level on the
web, from zooplankton to seabirds," the report says. Penguins in Antarctica and
Crabeater seals are already declining in some areas as the ice recedes.

Reef fish and intertidal invertebrates , such as anemones, crabs and snails in
California provide evidence that fish and other species are shifting toward the
poles in response to ocean warming, the report said.

In Europe, researchers also have observed a trend of species of butterflies and

birds to gradually move north to live out their live cycle. A University of Leeds
study found that many bird species in Britain had moved an average of 12 miles
to the north over the past 20 years.
Coral reefs have proved to be particularly sensitive to warming.

As surface temperatures have risen in recent years, many reefs have bleached -
meaning they expel the colourful algae that produce the foods on which they rely
- and, if temperatures remain too high for too long and bleaching persists, the
corals die.

That is happening around the world, according to the report. "In 1998, the hottest
year in at least six centuries, coral suffered the most extensive and severe
bleaching and subsequent mortality in the modern record."

New studies have found that Pacific salmon, especially sockeye, are particularly
vulnerable to temperature changes which affect their metabolism. The warmer
the water, the more food they need to stay alive.

In 1997-1998, higher sea temperatures during the winter may have led to the
collapse of western Alaskan salmon populations, according to the report which
concluded that the Pacific sockeye and other salmon species may soon be at risk
of extinction.

Similarly, reductions in phytoplankton caused by warmer sea temperatures have

devastating effects on predators, such as seabirds and marine mammals, at the
top of the food web.

Scientists already have established a connection between warmer water and

declining reproduction and increased mortality among different species of
seabirds and seals and sea lions along the US Pacific coast affected by the El
Nino phenomenon. (IPS)

A report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Marine Conservation Biology Institute
(MCBI) finds rising global temperatures impacting ocean ecosystems to a far greater
extent than previously acknowledged. From the tropics to the poles, wide-spread changes
in marine life are occurring in step with rising water temperatures. The evidence shows
dramatic impacts arriving sooner than predicted.

Among the most disturbing news is research suggesting Pacific salmon may no longer
find suitable habitat in the Pacific Ocean. Other effects of warming climate are appearing
across the marine food chain, from plankton, penguins and polar bears to fisheries on
which humans depend. Most dramatic of all is the sheer scope of the data.

"Warmer temperatures are raising the biological cost of living for marine species," says
Dr. Elliot Norse, President of MCBI. "This is true in polar seas, where climate changes
have been most pronounced, as well as on tropical coral reefs, which are suffering
unprecedented devastation due to heat stress."
Release of the report marks World Oceans Day, June 8. It also coincides with a
negotiating session on the international global warming treaty in Bonn, Germany. WWF
and MCBI say the findings underscore the urgent need to reduce emissions of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases particularly in the U.S. and industrial countries
responsible for the lion's share of the problem.

Climate Impact Shows in Seabirds, Fish and Marine Mammals

The report, Turning Up the Heat: How Global Warming Threatens Life in the Sea,
reflects the work of leading marine scientists who gathered earlier this year at a special
workshop organized by WWF and MCBI. It is based on a comprehensive review of the
latest scientific literature, including work that has been accepted, but not yet published.

"These disturbing results demonstrate that global warming is coming home to roost,
affecting livelihoods and wildlife Americans cherish. Our fear is that this is just the tip of
the iceberg," says Adam Markham, Director of WWF's Climate Program. "The story will
only get worse unless governments and business take the steps to stop it."

Key findings in the new WWF/MCBI report show that warming could eliminate much, if
not all, marine habitat for Pacific sockeye salmon, and probably other salmon species as
well. Sockeyes are extremely temperature-sensitive: their metabolism increases in
warmer water, requiring larger amounts of food. To avoid incurring large energy losses,
the salmon must either move into deeper water or migrate northward into the Bering Sea
farther from the freshwater rivers where they spawn. It is not certain they could make
these adaptations.

Drastic declines in western Alaska's Pacific salmon populations in 1997 and 1998 appear
related to changes in the marine environment caused by exceptionally high sea
temperatures. These unusual conditions included a rare bloom of phytoplankton typical of
waters closer to the equator (which may also have contributed to a massive die-off of
seabirds). Sharply reduced size of returning salmon combined with dramatically
decreased numbers suggests large-scale starvation. Similar effects were seen in Fraser
River sockeye salmon in British Columbia.

Reef fish and intertidal invertebrates including sea anemones, crabs and snails in
California provide compelling evidence that fish and other species are shifting toward the
poles in response to warming. Studies of rocky reef fishes off the California coast show
the proportion of northern species declining, and southern species increasing.

Scientists have documented decreased reproduction and increased mortality in seabirds

coinciding with warmer water. Sooty shearwaters off the California coast declined 90
percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cassin's auklets have declined 50 percent. In
both cases, the cause seems to be decreases in plankton which form the base of the birds'
food chain. In Alaska, the severe decline in shearwaters from 1997 to 1998 was clearly
due to starvation, as the abundance of their crustacean prey was dramatically reduced in
the unusually warm waters. Common murres also died by tens of thousands.
Coral reefs, the most biologically diverse and beautiful marine ecosystems, are also at
extreme risk The upper heat tolerance for many reef corals is just a few degrees above
normal temperatures. Beyond that, they expel the colorful food-producing zooxanthellae
algae in a process called bleaching. If it is too warm for too long, bleached corals die.
High water temperatures in 1997 and 1998 sparked unprecedented bleaching in all major
tropical regions including the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf,
the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. Large numbers of corals are turning completely
white and dying, with over 90 percent mortality in parts of the Indian Ocean.

Powerful Problems At the Poles

Meanwhile, polar regions will experience more extreme temperature change, and will
likely suffer even more extreme biological impacts than lower latitudes. Sea ice is
diminishing in both the Arctic and Antarctic, depriving birds and marine mammals of
their hunting and breeding grounds. Edges and undersides of sea ice are home to the
algae that are the base of the polar food web. As ice shrinks, so does the food available at
higher levels on the web, from zooplankton to seabirds. The result is serious trouble for
some bird and mammal species.

In the Antarctic, annual air temperatures have been increasing since the 1950s. Average
frequency of cold years has decreased by more than half -- from four out every five years
to just one or two in five -- causing significant stress for species that depend on sea ice.
Two closely-related species demonstrate the result: chinstrap penguins in the western
Antarctic Peninsula have increased in numbers since the 1950s, while Adelie penguins
have declined. Both eat the same prey, but Adelies winter on increasingly scarce sea ice,
while chinstraps prefer open water. Something similar is happening to Crabeater seals,
which also require pack ice. Their populations are falling, while southern fur seals,
southern elephant seals and others that prefer open water are increasing, and extending
their geographic ranges further south.

Canadian researchers in western Hudson Bay have documented decreased weight in adult
polar bears and a decline in the birthrate since the early 1980s. They suspect the cause is
earlier spring breakup of sea ice resulting from long-term global warming. The bears rely
on the ice floes to provide a platform to catch their prey, seals. During the summer
months, bears are shore-bound and rely heavily on fat reserves to survive. The entire
population must fast for at least four months after the ice has broken up, while pregnant
females in Hudson Bay must fast for eight months

Alaska's Bering Sea has exhibited many ecological changes over the past decade. In
addition to major, long-term declines in Steller sea lion and northern fur seal populations,
other mammal and bird communities appear increasingly stressed. Small forage fish, such
as herring, capelin and larval fishes, have been declining for the past five years. Species
that were previously known from more southern climes have appeared in Alaska
including Pacific white-sided dolphins, albacore and yellow-fin tuna, and ocean sunfish,
and herring spawned earlier than ever before.
Seals and sea lions suffered considerable declines during El Nino years. For example,
studies during 1983-84 El Nino showed females had to dive deeper to find food and were
away from their pups longer, causing a drop in milk production and pregnancy rates.
Young seals and sea lions had reduced growth rates and higher mortality as a result.

Scientists Say Evidence Warrants Action Sooner, Not Later

Ocean temperatures have been rising steadily in many areas of the globe for as long as 60
years, increasing as much as 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit in some places. With such
widespread changes in marine life already occurring, the implications for even more
dramatic changes in the near future are grave. While scientists cannot precisely predict
the wide range of possible biological changes, the chilling observations are powerful
harbingers.

"We have ample evidence that current global temperatures are significantly higher than
any time in a thousand years," said WWF's Adam Markham. "Carbon pollution from the
burning of coal and oil is projected to boost temperatures at an accelerating rate in the
coming decades. The longer we wait to turn down the heat the fewer our options will be”.

Tiny marine plants, called phytoplankton, impact the network of organisms that directly
or indirectly depend on them for food. Changes in ocean color--a measure of
phytoplankton mass--detected from space allowed researchers to calculate their
photosynthetic rates and correlate these changes to the climate.

Climate change is a cause of increasing concern to scientists and it will have dramatic
effects on marine mammals. The increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases
into the atmosphere are thought to be the main cause of climate change or global
warming. Exactly how climate change will affect the ocean, which is home to marine
mammals, is hard to predict since there are so many factors that affect ocean ecosystems.
How all these, such as weather events and salinity, will interact is highly unpredictable.
Using global climate models or GCMs scientists can get a general idea of how climate
change will impact the ocean environment in the future.

Marine mammals have evolved to live in the ocean, but the effects of climate change may
be altering their habitat more rapidly than they can adapt to the changes.

As levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase, they trap heat which causes an
overall warming of the planet. During the last century, global average land and sea
surface temperature has increased dramatically. Many marine mammal species require
specific temperature ranges in which they must live. The warming of the ocean will cause
changes in species range. Those species that cannot relocate due to some barrier will be
forced to adapt to the increasingly warming sea waters or else risk going extinct. Many
species ranges are being pushed further and further north as water temperatures increase
and will soon have no where else to go.
Not surprisingly, glacier ice melt has increased while sea ice extent and thickness has
decreased as temperatures keep rising. Rises in sea level affect coastal habitat and the
species that rely on it. This habitat is often used as haul out sites for several pinniped
species. In order to combat rising sea levels in areas inhabited by humans the
construction of sea walls has been proposed, however, these walls may interfere with the
migration routes of several marine mammal species. These routes can be very important
for reaching feeding and breeding grounds.

Changes in temperature ranges will also change the location of areas with high primary
productivity. These areas are important to marine mammals because primary producers
are the food source of marine mammal prey or are the marine mammal prey themselves.
Marine mammal distribution and abundance will be determined by the distribution and
abundance of its prey. Migration of marine mammals may also be affected by the
changes in primary productivity.

Increased glacier ice melt also impacts ocean circulation due to the increase of freshwater
in the ocean. Salinity concentrations in the ocean are changing. Thermohaline circulation
may be altered by increasing amounts of freshwater in the ocean. Thermohaline
circulation is responsible for bringing up cold, nutrient rich water from the depths of the
ocean, a process known as upwelling. This may effect regional temperatures and primary
productivity.

Susceptibility to disease is also thought to increase while reproductive success may

decrease with increasing ocean temperatures.

The worlds oceans absorb a large amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
causes an increase in carbon dioxide concentrations and a decrease its overall pH, making
it more acidic.

See Also:
Plants & Animals

• Nature
• Marine Biology
• Fish

Earth & Climate

• Global Warming
• Climate
• Oceanography

Reference

• Ocean acidification
• Carbon cycle
 • Climate model
• Permian-Triassic extinction event

Ocean acidity is rising as sea water absorbs more carbon dioxide released into the
atmosphere from power plants and automobiles. The higher acidity threatens marine life,
including corals and shellfish, which may become extinct later this century from the
chemical effects of carbon dioxide, even if the planet warms less than expected.

A new study by University of Illinois atmospheric scientist Atul Jain, graduate student
Long Cao and Carnegie Institution scientist Ken Caldeira suggests that future changes in
ocean acidification are largely independent of climate change. The researchers report
their findings in a paper accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research
Letters, and posted on its Web site.

"Before our study, there was speculation in the academic community that climate change
would have a big impact on ocean acidity," Jain said. "We found no such impact."

In previous studies, increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere led to a

reduction in ocean pH and carbonate ions, both of which damage marine ecosystems.
What had not been studied before was how climate change, in concert with higher
concentrations of carbon dioxide, would affect ocean chemistry and biology.

To investigate changes in ocean chemistry that could result from higher temperatures and
carbon-dioxide concentrations, the researchers used an Earth-system model called the
Integrated Science Assessment Model. Developed by Jain and his graduate students, the
model includes complex physical and chemical interactions among carbon-dioxide
emissions, climate change, and carbon-dioxide uptake by oceans and terrestrial
ecosystems.

The ocean-surface pH has been reduced by about 0.1 during the past two centuries. Using
ISAM, the researchers found ocean pH would decline a total of 0.31 by the end of this
century, if carbon-dioxide emissions continue on a trajectory to ultimately stabilize at
1,000 parts per million.

During the last 200 years, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide increased
from about 275 parts per million to about 380 parts per million. Unchecked, it could
surpass 550 parts per million by mid-century.

"As the concentration of carbon dioxide increases, ocean water will become more acidic;
which is bad news for marine life," Cao said. "Fortunately, the effects of climate change
will not further increase this acidity."

There are a number of effects and feedback mechanisms built into the ocean-climate
system, Jain said. "Warmer water, for example, directly reduces the ocean pH due to
temperature effect on the reaction rate in the carbonate system. At the same time, warmer
water also absorbs less carbon dioxide, which makes the ocean less acidic. These two
climate effects balance each other, which results in negligible net climate effect on ocean
pH."

The addition of carbon dioxide into the oceans also affects the carbonate mineral system
by decreasing the availability of carbonate ions. Calcium carbonate is used in forming
shells. With less carbonate ions available, the growth of corals and shellfish could be
significantly reduced.

"In our study, the increase in ocean acidity and decrease in carbonate ions occurred
regardless of the degree of temperature change associated with global warming," Jain
said. "This indicates that future changes in ocean acidity caused by atmospheric carbon-
dioxide concentrations are largely independent of climate change."

That's good news. The researchers' findings, however, call into question a number of
engineering schemes proposed as mitigation strategies for global warming, such as
lofting reflective balloons into the stratosphere or erecting huge parasols in orbit. By
blocking some of the sunlight, these devices would create a cooling effect to offset the
warming caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases.

"Even if we could engineer our way out of the climate problem, we will be stuck with the
ocean acidification problem," Caldeira said. "Coral reefs will go the way of the dodo
unless we quickly cut carbon-dioxide emissions."

Over the next few decades, we may make the oceans more acidic than they have been for
tens of millions of years, Caldeira said. And that's bad news.

As the temperatures of the planet begin to rise, many aspects of the environment begin to
change. This rising in temperatures is known as global warming. Global warming can
cause hazardous effects to numerous inhabitants of the planet, on of these being marine
life. The global warming effects on marine life are causing many of the oceans
inhabitants to struggle for survival. If the temperatures in the ocean remain elevated for
too long, there can be serious complications to marine life, and the entire planet.

Ocean Acidification

One result from global warming on marine life is ocean acidification. As greenhouse
gases are released into the atmosphere, they eventually mix with water creating carbonic
acid. As of 2006, the carbonic acid levels in the ocean have increased but 30 percent. The
carbonic acid causes the ocean acidifications levels to rises. This can cause many
problems throughout marine life.

Marine Life

The increase acidity levels in the ocean can cause many organisms in the ocean to
struggle to survive. Many organisms, including crustaceans and mollusks, are extremely
sensitive to changes in the oceans pH levels. The carbonic acid in the oceans water
caused by global warming does not allow the “marine calcifies” of the ocean to properly
build their shells and survive.

If ocean levels become too acidic, these organisms can actually be affected in another
way. High acidity levels in the ocean can cause the shells on the organisms to dissolve.
This will most likely result in death for many of the creatures. These organisms are food
for numerous creatures living in the ocean.

Carbonic acid causes another concern for marine life. This acid can begin to build up in
the body fluids of many species living in the ocean. Among these species are squids and
many fish. If this build up occurs, the species will have reproduction issues along with
growth complications and respiration issues.

The full extent of the global warming effects on marine life still remains unknown.
Scientific studies are continuously being conducted to fully investigate the effects global
warming can have on marine life.

References

“Ocean Acidification” Time for Change

“Global Warming Threatens Marine Life” By Jim Lobe TWN

1. ld Politics
2. » Effects of Global Warming on Ocean Life

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Effects of Global Warming on Ocean Life

By Anna Aronson, eHow Contributor

Global warming is the increase in the Earth's temperature as the result of greenhouse-gas
emissions. As the phenomenon continues, devastating consequences will be felt across
the globe. The ocean may be one of the hardest hit of the world's resources.

Microscopic Plants

1. As the world's oceans grow warmer and more acidic, fewer of the billions of tiny
plants that are at the bottom of the ocean food chain are growing. These plants,
called phytoplankton, are a necessary part of ocean life because they are a food
source for other ocean species.

Stronger Storms

2. Another effect of global warming is that stronger hurricanes are forming over
warmer ocean waters. These devastating storms also drastically affect ocean life
by disturbing and destroying animal habitats and killing and injuring animals.
 Coral Reefs

3. Global warming has a drastic effect on coral reefs, which are a vital habitat for
hundreds of fish species and other types of marine life. As temperatures rise, the
coral reefs die and in some cases collapse, destroying food and shelter
opportunities for some species.

Animal Populations

4. Research has shown that the populations of cool-water ocean species have been
dwindling as ocean temperatures have been rising. At the same time, the
population of warm-water ocean animals has seen no change or has increased.

Land Animals

5. As the polar ice caps melt, the natural habitat for animals that depend on the
ocean for survival, such as polar bears, are being destroyed. If these animals are
forced from their habitats or become extinct, some ocean species will no longer
have natural predators, and their populations will boom.

Read more: Effects of Global Warming on Ocean Life | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/facts_4897664_effects-global-warming-ocean-
life.html#ixzz12nIafhlt

Oceans cover 71% of the planet’s surface. They make up about 300 times more habitat
(by volume) contribute 46% of global primary production and house far more
biodiversity and biomass than terrestrial habitats. The oceans are also huge reservoirs for
nutrients and gases, including CO2, and ocean currents redistribute heat around the
planet, impacting atmospheric circulation, regional weather patterns and rainfall
distribution.

Marine organisms are not merely passive occupants that are impacted by physical
processes of the sea around them – they actively influence climate on a planetary level.
They play important roles in the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and other key elements and
influence the development clouds. A comprehensive review article published in Current
Biology earlier this summer details the dramatic and perhaps irreversible effects that
climate change is having on these life forms. These effects are being felt throughout
ocean systems, from individual genes to whole ecosystems, from the smallest rock pools
to entire ocean basins.
Global surface temperature change 1976-2005

The direct consequences of global warming on the oceans are increasing sea surface and
interior temperatures; disturbed weather patterns, including changes in the frequency
location and intensity of storms; rising sea levels; increasing ocean acidity; expansion of
low-oxygen (hypoxic) zones; changing nutrient availability; changes in salinity (fresher
near poles, saltier near tropics); and altered ocean circulation. In many cases, the rate of
change occurring faster than ever before. Some organisms may be able to respond
quickly, many will not, depending on many different factors, such as their ability to move
out of inhospitable areas into better ones and the other stresses they are experiencing,
such as overfishing, habitat loss, or pollution.

Coral reefs are one of the marine ecosystems threatened by multiple effects of global
climate. Corals and, in particular, their symbiotic zooxanthellae algae are highly sensitive
to increases in temperature. Above 31 degrees Celsius, zooxanthellae are ejected and
coral bleaching ensues. The intensity and scale of bleaching has increased since the
1960s, and major bleaching events in 1998 and 2002 affected entire reef systems. Waters
of the Great Barrier Reef are expected to warm by between 1 and 3 degrees Celsius over
the next 100 years, so the risk of high temperature press events that could be fatal to
corals is increasing. Corals require calcium carbonate (in the form of aragonite) to build
skeletons, but acidification is driving availability down. Calcification of Great Barrier
Reef corals has declined by 14.2% since 1990. Weakened coral skeletons are prone to
storm damage and more vulnerable to overgrowth by algae; algae-dominated reefs have
much lower biodiversity than corals. As sedentary creatures, corals are unable to move to
more hospitable waters. Coral reefs are habitats for many animal species so loss of coral
will lead to reduced biodiversity and possible extinctions of organisms dependent upon
reefs. Losses of fish and invertebrates will also have major impacts on fisheries, tourism
and other human uses of reefs.
Compared to the land, seawater is normally a stable habitat; marine organisms may be
less able to withstand change than those on land. Although mobile marine species may be
able to shift distribution in response to climate change, for sedentary organisms and
species with narrow ranges of temperature tolerance the rate of local change may be more
rapid than their ability to adapt. If present-day change continues unchecked, the impact
on marine systems could be as great as during the mass extinctions of the past.