Impact details: changes in species composition

impact chain for tropical coastal areas / ocean warming (click nodes to view details):
selected case study results:
Case study reference
Spatial context
Impact description (case study)
Case study recommendations
Feary, D., Burt, J., Bauman, A., Usseglio, P., Sale, P., & Cavalcante, G. (2010). Fish communities on the world's warmest reefs: what can they tell us about the effects of climate change in the future? Journal of fish biology, 77(8), 1931-1947. Arabian Gulf To examine the role of climatic extremes in structuring reef fish communities in the Arabian region, reef fish communities were visually surveyed at four sites within the southern Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf and The Gulf), where sea-surface temperatures are extreme (range: 12-35° C annually), and these were compared with communities at four latitudinally similar sites in the biogeographically connected Gulf of Oman, where conditions are more moderate (range: 22-31° C annually). Although sites were relatively similar in the cover and composition of coral communities, substantial differences in the structure and composition of associated fish assemblages were apparent. Fish assemblages in the southern Persian Gulf held significantly lower estimates of abundance, richness and biomass, with significantly higher abundances of smaller sized individuals than Gulf of Oman assemblages. Functionally, southern Persian Gulf sites held significantly lower abundances of nearly all the common fish trophic guilds found on Gulf of Oman sites, although higher abundances of herbivorous grazers were apparent. These results suggest the potential for substantial changes in the structure of reef-associated fish communities, independent of changes in habitat within an environment of increasing fluctuations in oceanic climate. -
Mora, C., & Ospina, A. (2001). Tolerance to high temperatures and potential impact of sea warming on reef fishes of Gorgona Island (tropical eastern Pacific). Marine Biology, 139(4), 765-769. Pacific/ Pacific Islands If sea temperature continues to increase at the current rate, in about a century it could exceed the thermal tolerance of some reef fishes and threaten them with extinction. Such risk, however, might occur sooner if the sea temperature during El Niño also increases in step with global warming, but also because other processes involved in maintaining population, such as reproduction, can be affected at lower temperatures. Long-term monitoring of effects is needed.
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