Scientists say these heat waves are forming more frequently, and they suspect that shifts in winds and ocean currents driven by global warming are a big part of the cause.Ī 2018 study showed that, since 1925, marine heat waves have become 34 percent more frequent and they are lasting longer. Marine heat waves occur when sea surface temperatures in part of the ocean rise and stay above the expected seasonal temperatures for at least five days in a row. The last northeastern Pacific warm blob contributed to both drought and wildfire conditions in California, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. West Coast, it could also raise the wildfire danger in California this autumn at the peak of the state’s wildfire season. If the marine heat wave continues to expand toward the U.S. “If these ocean temperatures persist into the fall longer than the atmospheric forcing, I worry that these conditions could intensify any possible tropical storms that might develop in this region.” “Hawaii is literally sitting in the middle of the southern limb of this marine heat wave,” said University of Washington marine heat wave researcher Hillary Scannell. In the warmest areas, sea surface temperatures have reached about 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit above average.Īround Hawaii, the overheated ocean has also contributed to a string of high temperature records on land, including the warmest summer on record for Hawaii. It extends from the Gulf of Alaska down the coast of Western North America and westward to Hawaii. The current marine heat wave covers a horseshoe-shaped area about the size of Alaska.
He said the baseline ocean temperatures are warming so fast that scientists are scrambling to keep up with measuring and classifying the events. “We’re seeing more intensity in the marine heat waves, higher high temperatures, and that would be more of a function of climate change,” said Andy Leising, a research scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. The halt to crab fishing cost the industry an estimated $100 million. Young salmon had less to eat as they entered the ocean, and thousands of sea lions and seal pups ended up stranded on California beaches. The impacts rippled through ocean ecosystems, with mass die-offs of marine mammals and birds, the closure of crab and clam fisheries and warnings for sardine and anchovy fisheries because of poisoning concerns. The last time the region saw such a widespread and intense “warm blob,” in 2014-2015, the unusually warm ocean water boosted the growth of toxin-producing algae and suppressed the growth of small organisms at the base of the ocean food chain. West Coast, and it’s raising concerns about hurricane risks to the Hawaiian islands and wildfire risks in California. We believe that a joint research effort encompassing the fields of thermal physiology, behavioral ecology, comparative cognition, and conservation science, is essential to provide timely mitigation measures against the potential impacts of climate change on wildlife.An intensifying marine heat wave in the northeastern Pacific Ocean has triggered government warnings about harm to salmon and other fisheries along the U.S. We then suggest how knowledge of heat stress impacts on cognitive performance could be applied to population viability models and wildlife management actions. We propose a comprehensive research framework for the collection of robust empirical datasets on heat stress and cognitive performance in the wild. However, the link between heat stress, cognition, and fitness in wild animals has yet to be formally established. Field studies indicate that cognitive performance may affect survival and reproductive success.
Captive studies show that heat stress can negatively affect cognitive performance not only in the short-term but also in the long-term, by altering cognitive development at early life stages. Hence, it is likely to be a key factor in allowing animals to adjust adaptively to climate change. Cognition encompasses the mental mechanisms that allow individuals to process information from the surrounding environment, respond accordingly, and flexibly adjust behavior. While impacts on the phenology, distribution, and demography of wild animal populations are well documented, the impact of increasing temperature on cognition in these populations has received relatively little attention. With global surface air temperature rising rapidly, extensive research effort has been dedicated to assessing the consequences of this change for wildlife.
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