The global ocean has warmed substantially over the past century, with far-reaching implications for marine ecosystems(1). Concurrent with long-term persistent warming, discrete periods of extreme regional ocean warming (marine heatwaves, MHWs) have increased in frequency(2). Here we quantify trends and attributes of MHWs across all ocean basins and examine their biological impacts from species to ecosystems. Multiple regions in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans are particularly vulnerable to MHW intensification, due to the co-existence of high levels of biodiversity, a prevalence of species found at their warm range edges or concurrent non-climatic human impacts. The physical attributes of prominent MHWs varied considerably, but all had deleterious impacts across a range of biological processes and taxa, including critical foundation species (corals, seagrasses and kelps). MHWs, which will probably intensify with anthropogenic climate change(3), are rapidly emerging as forceful agents of disturbance with the capacity to restructure entire ecosystems and disrupt the provision of ecological goods and services in coming decades.
1.Marine Biol Assoc UK, The Lab, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, Devon, England 2.Univ Western Australia, UWA Oceans Inst, Crawley, WA, Australia 3.Univ Western Australia, Sch Biol Sci, Crawley, WA, Australia 4.Dalhousie Univ, Dept Oceanog, Halifax, NS, Canada 5.Univ Tasmania, Inst Marine & Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Tas, Australia 6.Univ Tasmania, Australian Res Council Ctr Excellence Climate Sys, Hobart, Tas, Australia 7.Univ Canterbury, Sch Biol Sci, Ctr Integrat Ecol, Christchurch, New Zealand 8.Univ Canterbury, Sch Biol Sci, Marine Ecol Res Grp, Christchurch, New Zealand 9.Aberystwyth Univ, Inst Biol Environm & Rural Sci, Aberystwyth, Dyfed, Wales 10.Univ Tsukuba, Shimoda Marine Res Ctr, Shizuoka, Japan 11.Scottish Assoc Marine Sci, Scottish Marine Inst, Dept Ecol, Oban, Argyll, Scotland 12.Univ New South Wales, Climate Change Res Ctr, Sydney, NSW, Australia 13.Univ New South Wales, Australian Res Council Ctr Excellence Climate Ext, Sydney, NSW, Australia 14.Univ New South Wales, Australian Res Council Ctr Excellence Climate Sys, Sydney, NSW, Australia 15.Australian Inst Marine Sci, Crawley, WA, Australia 16.Barcelona Supercomp Ctr, Barcelona, Spain 17.CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Crawley, WA, Australia 18.CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart, Tas, Australia 19.Univ Tasmania, Australian Res Council Ctr Excellence Climate Ext, Hobart, Tas, Australia 20.Univ Washington, Sch Oceanog, Seattle, WA 98195 USA 21.Edith Cowan Univ, Sch Nat Sci, Ctr Marine Ecosyst Res, Joondalup, WA, Australia
Recommended Citation:
Smale, Dan A.,Wernberg, Thomas,Oliver, Eric C. J.,et al. Marine heatwaves threaten global biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services[J]. NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE,2019-01-01,9(4):306-+