Marine fish species fleeing to the poles are in decline

April 9 () –

Study has found a decline in the abundance of marine fish species moving rapidly towards the poles to escape rising sea temperatures.

Led by scientists from Trel Aviv University, the research finds that many animal species are currently moving towards colder regions as a result of global warming, but the speed of those range changes varies immensely for different species.

By examining thousands of populations of nearly 150 fish species, researchers show that, contrary to prevailing opinion, rapid distribution changes coincide with large-scale population declines. According to the study, on average, A poleward shift of 17 kilometers per year can result in a 50% decrease in population abundance.

The international study was led by PhD student Shahar Chaikin and Professor Jonathan Belmaker from the Faculty of Zoology at the Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History at Tel Aviv University. The article was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

For the first time, the new study correlated two global databases: one that tracks fish population sizes over time and another that compiles rates of range change among marine fish. Total, 2,572 fish populations belonging to 146 species were studiedmostly from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the northern hemisphere.

“We know that climate change causes animal species to move – north, south, up or down – depending on its location in relation to the coldest regions. “In the mountains they rise, in the oceans they submerge deeper, in the southern hemisphere they move towards Antarctica, and in the northern hemisphere towards the North Pole,” he explained. it's a statement Professor Belmaker in a statement.

“In the present study we wanted to see what happens to species that move from one place to another: do they benefit from greater survivability or are they actually harmed by the change (which was initially caused by greater vulnerability to climate change.) We discovered that The faster fish move towards the poles, the faster their abundance declines.. Apparently, it is difficult for these populations to adapt to their new environment,” he added.