……..in a way spelled out by old Coastwise friend Dr Keith Hiscock MBE, an Associate FellowMarine Biological Association, who we know as a highly authoritative source in this marine field.
Keith’s talk covered how our south-west seas and their marine life are changing as temperatures rise, as dominant and conspicuous species get more or less abundant, and as human activities impact them. For example, the Common (‘Mediterranean’) and Comber Octopus – both warmer water species, are becoming abundant.
These are many possible causes, but considerable research has gone into marine heat waves
There are other symptoms, e.g. fewer phytoplankton, and the ones that are there are smaller.
Keith concluded with a call to not ‘lose heart’ as there is fabulous and fascinating marine life out there. It has highs and lows that we need to better understand so that we can answer the ‘Why has that happened?’ and ‘Does it matter? questions.
Photo – new (?) species Lomantotus sp., courtesy Maggs Ashton, and graph by Von Schuckman et al. 2024. Copernicus Ocean State Report.