Latest news with #warming seas
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists issue warning over surprising effects of emerging ocean phenomenon: 'Particularly impactful'
The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in the UK recently mapped how a number of threatened marine species will react to increasingly warming sea waters in the UK, with surprising results. What happened? Seas in the UK have seen a record amount of warming in the past 50 years. According to the BBC, researchers have projected how 19 threatened marine species are likely to react to this disruption to their native habitats. Surprisingly, some of these species, including rays and endangered sharks, may see a boon as they move to new habitats in search of cooler waters. However, more static species, such as the clam known as the ocean quahog, will find it much more difficult to adapt to rising temperatures as compared to mobile species. Even with some species relocating to new areas in the seas, though, the disruption caused by changes in sea temperatures will result in adverse effects for local ecosystems, economies, and food supply chains. One marine scientist from the Centre told the BBC, "As an island nation, we're hugely reliant on the sea for our food and for jobs. Any changes that we see in our seas are particularly impactful." Why are rising sea temperatures concerning? The world's seas absorb nearly 90% of the additional heating caused by human use of dirty energy sources. As temperatures continue to rise, the consequences can be deadly for both marine and human life. When warmer water forces marine species to move to new habitats because their current ones are too warm for them to survive, it can sometimes cause these species to increase in number, as may be the case with sharks in the UK, but it can also result in these species dying out. Static species unable to move to new locations won't be able to survive. If deadlier marine life, such as sharks, increasingly moves closer to where humans congregate, it will be more dangerous for both the animals and humans. Rising sea temperatures also affect humans in a variety of ways. Fewer marine species means less seafood, less need for fishermen, and issues in the food supply chain. Warmer temperatures in the sea increase the risk of extreme weather events, too, which often lead to flooding, damage to property, injuries, and deaths in local communities. Should we be harnessing the ocean to power our homes? Absolutely Leave it be It depends I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What's being done about rising sea temperatures? One significant way to mitigate the damage caused by rising sea temperatures is by reducing carbon pollution. As more people and corporations continue to switch to utilizing renewable energy and reducing their use of plastic, this pollution can be greatly reduced. Several conservation groups are hard at work managing, protecting, and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems to ensure marine life is more resilient in warmer waters. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
News.com.au
11-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Warning climate change could keep bull sharks in Sydney waters ‘year-round'
Sharks are spending more time lurking in the waters off Sydney, new research has warned, as warming seas push the predators closer to people along the coastline of the megacity. The James Cook University research shows that bull sharks, which spend their winters in Queensland, are now on average staying 15 days longer off Sydney's coast in the summer than they did 15 years ago. JCU postdoctoral research fellow Nicolas Lubitz said rising water temperatures were to blame. 'We did a climate analysis of water temperatures of the coast around Sydney and found that average temperatures during the period from October-May each year have been increasing over the past 40 years,' he said. 'We've been tracking migratory bull sharks moving seasonally between Queensland and NSW, specifically the area off Sydney for 15 years, and now on average they're staying 15 days longer than they used to back in 2009.' The change in migration patterns would extend the potential for human-shark encounters, Dr Lubitz warned. 'Sydney is Australia's most populated city, where bull sharks disappear during the wintertime and migrate back to Queensland during the cooler months, as bull sharks avoid long-term temperatures below 19 degrees,' he said. 'But if they're staying longer, it means that people and prey animals have a longer window of overlap with them.' According to the Australian Shark Incident Database, nearly all shark encounters in Sydney Harbour with humans involve bull sharks. They are considered one of the world's most dangerous and aggressive shark species. In March this year, Sydney woman Mangyon Zhang was attacked by a bull shark at Gunyah Beach, Bundeena, south of Sydney. Ms Zhang survived the attack. 'She has quite a severe laceration to her outer right leg, to the bone, calf and thigh, and inside thigh,' her partner Maria Masutti said in a social media post. 'She lost quite a lot of blood and had transfusions.' Dr Lubitz also said if warming trends persisted, bull sharks could inhabit the waters off Sydney 'year-round'. 'While the chances of a shark bite, and shark bites in Australia in general, remain low, it just means that people have to be more aware of an increased window of bull shark presence in coastal waters off Sydney,' he said. Wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said the research could inform how the public interacted with the marine environment. 'As a whale scientist as well, a lot of these animals are economically profitable for us,' Dr Pirotta told NewsWire. 'People will pay to swim with sharks, people will pay to whale watch. 'Their presence is so important for us, not only ecologically but also economically.' Dr Lubitz also said the changing climate could alter bull shark breeding patterns, pushing the predators to new breeding grounds further south. 'If that trend persists, there's a fair chance that a lot more tropical species are going to be pretty much year-round in the Sydney area, which obviously changes the whole dynamic,' he added.
