The Impact of Climate Change on the World’s Marine Ecosystems
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg1,* and
John F. Bruno1,2
Marine ecosystems are centrally important to the biology of
the planet, yet a comprehensive understanding of how anthropogenic
climate change is affecting them has been poorly developed.
Recent studies indicate that rapidly rising greenhouse gas concentrations
are driving ocean systems toward conditions not seen for millions
of years, with an associated risk of fundamental and irreversible
ecological transformation. The impacts of anthropogenic climate
change so far include decreased ocean productivity, altered
food web dynamics, reduced abundance of habitat-forming species,
shifting species distributions, and a greater incidence of disease.
Although there is considerable uncertainty about the spatial
and temporal details, climate change is clearly and fundamentally
altering ocean ecosystems. Further change will continue to create
enormous challenges and costs for societies worldwide, particularly
those in developing countries.
2 Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: oveh{at}uq.edu.au
