Nature: Marine Heatwaves May Push Fish As Far As 2,000 Km In Search Of Temps Cool Enough To Survive
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To answer this, researchers analyzed data of marine heatwaves from 1982 to 2019 and looked at the species displacement associated with these events. In some areas, cooler water would not be far away, such as where different regions of the ocean meet. But in tropical waters, where variations in temperatures are relatively small, the study found that species would have to travel more than 2,000 kilometers to find suitable habitat.
This fast-moving displacement of sea life has broad implications, Jacox said. "Some of the most mobile species -- many fish, whales, and turtles -- hold great value for humans, whether it's for fisheries, tourism, or from a conservation perspective," he said.
In 2011, a 10-week ocean heatwave off western Australia shattered the local underwater ecosystem and pushed commercial fish species into colder waters. At the end of 2013 an unusually warm patch of water that became known as "The Blob" appeared near Alaska and began to expand, stretching all the way to Baja California around 4,000 kilometers away by late 2015.
This vast marine heatwave caused mass strandings of marine mammals and seabirds along the west coast of the United States and Canada and killed off swathes of seagrass meadows and kelp forests. "Warm-water species such as thresher sharks, hammerhead sharks, and mahi mahi (aka dolphinfish) were sighted farther north than ever before," said a 2016 report on "The Blob" in the peer-reviewed magazine Oceanography.
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https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/08/09/marine-heatwaves-may-force-fish-to-flee-huge-distances-study.html