Nature & Environment
Warmer oceans causing species migration
By
T.K. RandallJune 29, 2011 ·
8 comments
Image Credit: Wikipedia
Poisonous algae and jellyfish are being found in British waters due to warmer ocean temperatures
Despite dying out over 800,000 years ago, species of venomous jellyfish and poisonous algae are being found off the coast of Britain as well as Scandinavia. The Portuguese Man-of-War and and the algae called dinoflagellates are both normally found in more sub-tropical ocean waters, but are migrating farther north where the waters are still warm. This is the largest migration seen in 2 million years.
Warming ocean waters are causing the largest movement of marine species seen on Earth in more than two million years, according to scientists. In the Arctic, melting sea ice during recent summers has allowed a passage to open up from the Pacific ocean into the North Atlantic, allowing plankton, fish and even whales to into the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific. The discovery has sparked fears delicate marine food webs could be unbalanced and lead to some species becoming extinct as competition for food between the native species and the invaders stretches resources.
Source:
Telegraph |
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