"A recent study by scientists at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography reveals that warming water temperatures are causing major changes in species composition in Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island sound.
The study, which will be published in the July issue of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, reports that the fish community is shifting from vertebrate species, such as finfish, to invertebrates like crabs, lobsters and squid. Populations of species that feed on the bottom are declining while species that feed higher in the water column, where water is warmer, are increasing.
The study, which will be published in the July issue of the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, reports that the fish community is shifting from vertebrate species, such as finfish, to invertebrates like crabs, lobsters and squid. Populations of species that feed on the bottom are declining while species that feed higher in the water column, where water is warmer, are increasing.
“This is a pretty dramatic change and it’s a pattern that is being seen in other ecosystems,” said Jeremy Collie, a professor of oceanography at the URI Bay Campus in Narragansett.
As bottom-feeding species disappear, lobsters and crabs have taken advantage of the abandoned habitat, Collie said, which explains why there are more lobsters and crabs.Some species have seen dramatic population changes. Butterfish and bluefish have increased in abundance by a factor of 100, while cunner has decreased by almost 1,000 times.
The long-term result of the changes will cause Narragansett Bay to more closely resemble estuaries to the south, such as Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay.
“It will continue to get warmer and attract more southern species, such as blue crabs,” Collie said. “Species that couldn’t complete their life cycle here before may be able to do that now.” LINK
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