A study warns of an unprecedented threat that will disrupt the entire marine ecosystem, with devastating and far-reaching consequences for marine life and the food supply for humans.
Plankton is the basis of the diet of many marine animals, but it could become extinct in the next century due to its inability to adapt quickly enough to the current rate of increase in temperature, as a consequence of global warming.
The possible disappearance of plankton would endanger large areas of marine life, including the fish that depend on these organisms for food, reported on Wednesday.
A team led by the University of Bristol (United Kingdom) compared, in a study published in , the response of plankton the last time the Earth warmed significantly, around 21,000 years ago, with what is likely to occur under similar conditions at the end of this century.
“The results are alarming, as even with the most conservative climate predictions of a 2 degree rise, it is clear that plankton cannot adapt quickly enough to the much faster pace of warming that we are experiencing now and that appears to be continuing”, warned the research’s lead author, Rui Ying, from the University of Bristol.
Ying remembers that plankton “It is the lifeblood of the oceans as it supports the marine food chain and carbon storage.”
The expert warned that endangering its existence will represent an unprecedented threat, which will disrupt the entire marine ecosystem, with devastating and far-reaching consequences for marine life and also for the food supply of humans.
The team developed a model to analyze how plankton behaved around 21,000 years ago and how it could act based on future climate projections.
By focusing on a specific group of plankton that has existed for centuries, the modeling work offered unprecedented insights and levels of accuracy.
Geological records have shown that plankton had already moved away from warmer oceans to survive.
But using the same ecological and climate model, projections showed that current and future warming rates were too high for this to be possible again, potentially wiping out precious organisms.
The United Nations warning
The Paris Agreement sets the goal of limiting the rise in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels and strives to limit it to 1.5.
One warned last month that the world will face warming of up to 3.1 degrees if governments do not take more action to reduce carbon emissionsrecalled the University of Bristol.
If these worrying trends worsen, “there will be very real consequences for our ecosystems and people’s livelihoods, including fishing communities”highlighted Daniela Schmidt, also a signatory to the investigation.
For the scientist, the message is clear: “All nations must redouble their efforts and measures, collectively and individually, to reduce global warming to a minimum.”
