<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/22/decline-of-more-than-500-species-of-marine-life-in-australian-reefs-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-study-finds>
"More than 500 common species of fish, seaweed, coral and invertebrates that
live on reefs around Australia have declined in the past decade, a study has
found, as experts warn “not all is well in the ocean”.
Global heating was likely the main driver of the falls, with marine heatwaves
and a rise in ocean temperatures hitting species that live on rocky and coral
reefs.
The study, published in the journal
Nature, monitored 1,057 species and found
57% of them had declined, and almost 300 were declining at a rate that could
qualify them as threatened species.
About 28% of the species analysed had suffered drops of 30% or more in just a
decade, with species that live in cooler waters particularly hard-hit.
Prof Graham Edgar, a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania and the
study’s lead author, said the declines were most marked in the rocky
kelp-dominated reefs in Australia’s cooler southern waters, known collectively
as the Great Southern Reef.
“These declines are happening out of sight and with very little public
attention,” he said.
Edgar said there were many more species in the waters that were not being
monitored and were also very likely to be declining.
“We’re really only looking at the tip of the iceberg here. Species could be
going extinct now,” he said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
