The acidification process that the oceans are currently experiencing and the increase in the temperature of their waters will cause a significant reduction in marine biodiversity in the near future , according to a team of ecologists from the University of Adelaide, in Australia.
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , these researchers point out that this phenomenon, favored by the carbon dioxide emissions that humans originate, will decrease the number of certain key species on which the quality of the fish depends. ecosystems . Over time, this will decisively affect the food chain, with profound consequences for the exploitation of fisheries around the world.
To reach this conclusion, scientists have analyzed the data obtained in 632 experiments, carried out in all kinds of environments, from the Arctic seas to coral reefs, in which the interaction between species has also been measured. Thus, they have been able to determine that very few of them will be able to acclimatize satisfactorily to more acidic and temperate waters. Few will actually escape its negative effects. In this scenario, only microorganisms will grow in number and diversity, although this will not favor the food chain either.
Acidification significantly impairs the development of corals, certain species of zooplankton, shellfish and mollusks, as well as a large number of small fish. “In warmer waters, the large carnivorous fish, the same ones that sustain much of our fishing industry, need more food, but there will be much less available, ” says Professor Ivan Nagelkerken, one of the signatories of the trial. “This, in turn, will lead to a collapse of the food chain,” he explains.
