As the ocean warms, marine species relocate toward the poles: study

MARCH 26, 2020

by University of Bristol

A global analysis of over 300 marine species spanning more than 100 years, shows that mammals, plankton, fish, plants and seabirds have been changing in abundance as our climate warms.

At the cool edge of species ranges marine life is doing well as warming opens up habitat that was previously inaccessible, while at the warmer edge species are declining as conditions become too warm to tolerate.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, reviewed 540 published records of species abundance changes to investigate how marine plants and animals are responding to warming seas.

Martin Genner, Professor of Evolutionary Ecology at the University of Bristol's School of Biological Sciences, who guided the research, said: "We drew together an extensive collection of survey records that reported how species abundances have changed over the last century, as the world's oceans warmed by over 1°C. We then identified the location of each study in relation to the full global distribution of the species and asked if abundance changes depended on where a species was studied."

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'We want to live with them': wolves airdropped into US to tackle moose problem

With the wolf population dwindling in a Michigan park, four were trapped in Ontario and transported by helicopter

Katharine Gammon

Wed 6 Mar 2019 11.00 GMT Last modified on Wed 6 Mar 2019 11.02 GMT

At a remote national park, four Canadians were recently airdropped into a dizzying new life in America.

They are expert moose hunters, accustomed to cold climates, and covered in fur.

A quartet of Canadian wolves was transported by helicopter from their home in Ontario to Isle Royale national park, covering an 894-square-mile island in the US Great Lakes, to deal with the burgeoning moose population. Scientists also hope to bolster a dwindling population of wolves that already exists on the island.

Historically, ice bridges have connected Isle Royale to the mainland for more than 50 days a year, allowing wolves ample time to migrate. But over the last two decades, these bridges have been far less common and consistent, in effect stranding the two last wolves at Isle Royale and preventing newcomers. The four new ones will join two others introduced in 2018. The National Park Service is planning to introduce 20 to 30 wolves to the park over the next five years.

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Black Widow Spiders Bring Their Venom to Canada As Planet Warms

By Rafi Letzter, Staff Writer | August 13, 2018 07:21am ET

Venomous black widow spiders now range farther north than scientists expected, into an area including the most-inhabited parts of Canada. And there's good reason to suggest that warming temperatures are driving the fatal biters north.

That's one conclusion of a new study, published online Wednesday (Aug. 8) in the journal PLOS One. The researchers in this study were trying to identify the geographical ranges of animals using citizen science and other spotty data sources. They focused on two spider species: the northern black widow (Latrodectus variolus) and the black purse-web spider (Sphodros niger). The scientists found that data taken between 1990 and 2016 showed a black widow range extending 58 miles (94 kilometers) farther north than the northernmost observation from the period between 1960 and 1989. They suggested that black widows might already range another 30 miles (50 km) north to the Montreal area, though none have yet been reported in that region. [Creepy, Crawly & Incredible: Photos of Spiders]

The team could not conclusively demonstrate that climate change has pushed the spiders north. But a number of their findings strongly suggest that's the case, the wrote:

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Relocated squirrels moving to new areas, says charity

6 November 2017

Red squirrels relocated to woodlands in the north west Highlands are "flourishing and breeding", according to a conservation charity.

More than 80 squirrels were trapped in other parts of the Highlands in phases of the project led by Findhorn-based Trees for Life.

The animals were released in areas that had no squirrels, including Shieldaig.

Tree for Life said many of the squirrels were not only breeding but also spreading to other new areas.

Becky Priestley, the charity's wildlife officer, said: "Early indications are that this could be a real wildlife success story.

"The new squirrel populations are not only flourishing and breeding in their new homes, they are also starting to spread out into new areas - with squirrels being sighted as far as 15km away."

The project's initial relocations took place between the springs of 2016 and 2017, with the first 33 squirrels from near Inverness and also in Moray released at Shieldaig in Wester Ross.

This was followed by 22 more released at the Coulin Estate next to Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve near Kinlochewe.

Thirty squirrels were also released at Plockton, in Lochalsh, where the landowners include The National Trust for Scotland.

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Marine expert warns of climate emergency as fish abandon tropical waters

Daniel Pauly is calling for a new plan to manage fishing levels as the industry’s expansion combines with global warming

Helen Davidson in Darwin

Thursday 15 June 2017 04.20 BST Last modified on Thursday 15 June 2017 04.22 BST 

As climate change pushes marine species towards cooler waters, and the fishing industry expands around the globe, the tropics are emptying out, a leading fisheries expert has warned.

The federal government is expected to release its new management plan for marine reserves in coming weeks, after a 2016 review recommended winding back protections. However Dr Daniel Pauly has called for the creation of more, saying they are the only realistic form of mitigation to the current crisis.

Pauly, principal investigator at the Sea Around Us research organisation, said it was unknown whether the “explosion” of fishing industries or global warming was having the biggest impact on fish stocks, but both needed to be addressed.

“The depth, the distance from the coast, all of these were factors which protected fish. Now we go everywhere … now nothing protects the fish,” he said during an observation tour of Darwin’s tropical harbour.

“Climate change is something that is already being perceived by fish. It’s already happening and they’re already moving,” he said.

Warmer waters were pushing marine species away from the equator at a rate of about 50km per decade as they followed the ideal temperatures for feeding and spawning.

 “In temperate areas you will have the fish coming from a warmer area, and another one leaving. You’ll have a lot of transformation but they will actually – at least in terms of fishery – adapt. In the tropics you don’t have the replacement, you have only fish leaving.”

Research by Pauly and the Sea Around Us has repeatedly called for greater focus on fisheries data from a global perspective rather than local, to properly assess the impact of commercial competition and climate change.

“Locally the work must be done also, but you can get insights if you look at the global issue,” he said.

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Saving snakes: Students relocate snakes from Loveland solar site - via Herp Digest

By Pamela Johnson-Reporter-Herald Staff Writer- 01/01/2017

Loveland, CO, 1/1/17- A solar farm under construction in west Loveland has offered more than the promise of renewable energy. Researchers also got a glimpse of how snake populations are faring near human development.

"It's encouraging in trying to maintain biodiversity in an urban-suburban setting," said Stephen Mackassy, a professor at the University of Northern Colorado.

Mackassy and a team of student researchers spent many hours last spring and summer looking for snakes at the site near Mehaffey Park (west of Wilson Avenue between 29th and 22nd Streets) where the city of Loveland is building a solar farm.

Their purpose was threefold — they wanted to save the snakes from being killed and disrupted during construction, to study snake patterns and to assist the city with environmental regulations.

The students found 119 different snakes, mostly three species that are nonvenomous and harmless — bull snakes, milk snakes and racer snakes. With these, they captured them, tagged them with chips to follow their future movements, and then released them nearby but away from neighborhoods.

They couldn't take the snakes too far, less than a mile, from where they were found so they would be in their native terrain.

"We wanted to help them, get them away from where the construction was going on so they could survive the season," said Graham Dawson, one of four students who worked on the project.

The team also found three rattlesnakes, which they did not release back into the wild.

Instead, those snakes are now living, with many other reptiles, in Mackassy's laboratory area at the Greeley campus, where students and professors study snakes and uses for venom.

During their field research, the students were surprised at how curious people were about snakes and how supportive the public was of their efforts when they explained their purpose.

"That was a nice surprise," said Mackassy. "Snakes get a bad rap because some are venomous and can cause problems for us ... People are fearful of them.”

And Mackassy said he also was surprised at the number of snakes they found at the site because it is very near neighborhoods as well as the popular Mehaffey Park.

"We have a moderate diversity and abundance of these harmless and useful parts of the ecosystem in an area that's very close to human development," said Mackassy.

"I wasn't convinced at the start that we'd find as many or the total number of species ... They have a very important role in regulating populations of small mammals and that means rats and mice primarily.”

The city of Loveland contacted Mackassy to help with snakes at the construction site for more than one reason.

Officials wanted to make sure the snakes and workers were safe, that the snakes did not exit the site en masse to nearby neighborhoods and to comply with federal environmental standards, explained Tracy Turner-Naranjo, environmental compliance administrator for the city.

The solar farm is being built with money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a renewable energy source to replace a hydroelectric plant that was destroyed in the 2013 floods.

"There's a lot of snake activity there," said Turner-Naranjo. "That particular area is very nice habitat for snakes.”

So, the city staff decided to work with snake experts to balance environmental needs with safety of the workers, the neighborhood and the snakes. They created a snake training video for the contractors and employees on site to teach them of habitats, species and signs of snakes.

They also called in Mackassy and his students, who worked to relocate the snakes on city-owned property.

The project, Mackassy and Dawson said, allowed them to talk about how important snakes are to the ecosystem and to preventing rodent-borne diseases such as hantavirus and how to avoid conflict with snakes.

It also provided a baseline population for future study.

"That we're in an urban-suburban area and we still have reasonable diversity of these small animals is impressive and is a good indication that we can maintain this diversity along the Front Range if we consider some simple needs these animals have," said Mackassy.

"The whole project was designed to provide an inventory on what was there but also to develop best practices for the animals."

 

 

As oceans warm, coral reef fish might prefer to move rather than adapt

Date: October 5, 2016

Source: University of Texas at Austin

Scientists have new evidence that coral-reef fish -- who are capable of adapting to warmer temperatures brought about by global climate change -- will probably opt instead to relocate to cooler parts of the ocean.

In experiments using a fish found in coral reefs around the world, the blue-green damselfish, Chromis viridis, researchers found that the fish were capable of adapting to living in water 2-4 degrees Celsius above their normal summer temperatures; however, when given the slightest chance, the fish moved to cooler water.

"When fish have to adapt to increased temperature, there are physical consequences. They may not be able to handles stress, or reproduce, or even grow," said marine scientist Dr. Jacob Johansen from The University of Texas at Austin. "But, when they seek out temperatures that they've evolved to be in over thousands of years, they can mitigate the impact of increasing temperatures and not sacrifice critical physiological processes."

Johansen and fisheries biologists from the University of Copenhagen and James Cook University collaborated on the study, published in the journal Global Change Biology.

Marine fish are faced with a tough decision. The ocean is warming at a faster rate than occurs on land, because oceans operate as sinks -- trapping in the heat. Many ocean fish will need to adapt or move to avoid death.

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