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Differing marine animal biomass shifts under 21st century climate change between Canada's three oceans

Citation

Bryndum-Buchholz, A and Prentice, F and Tittensor, DP and Blanchard, JL and Cheung, WWL and Christensen, V and Galbraith, ED and Maury, O and Lotze, HK, Differing marine animal biomass shifts under 21st century climate change between Canada's three oceans, Facets, 5 pp. 105-122. ISSN 2371-1671 (2020) [Refereed Article]


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Copyright 2020 Bryndum-Buchholz et al. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_GB

DOI: doi:10.1139/facets-2019-0035

Abstract

Under climate change, species composition and abundances in high-latitude waters are expected to substantially reconfigure with consequences for trophic relationships and ecosystem services. Outcomes are challenging to project at national scales, despite their importance for management decisions. Using an ensemble of six global marine ecosystem models we analyzed marine ecosystem responses to climate change from 1971 to 2099 in Canada’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under four standardized emissions scenarios. By 2099, under business-as-usual emissions (RCP8.5) projected marine animal biomass declined by an average of −7.7% (±29.5%) within the Canadian EEZ, dominated by declines in the Pacific (−24% ± 24.5%) and Atlantic (−25.5% ± 9.5%) areas; these were partially compensated by increases in the Canadian Arctic (+26.2% ± 38.4%). Lower emissions scenarios projected successively smaller biomass changes, highlighting the benefits of stronger mitigation targets. Individual model projections were most consistent in the Atlantic and Pacific, but highly variable in the Arctic due to model uncertainties in polar regions. Different trajectories of future marine biomass changes will require regional-specific responses in conservation and management strategies, such as adaptive planning of marine protected areas and species-specific management plans, to enhance resilience and rebuilding of Canada’s marine ecosystems and commercial fish stocks.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Keywords:climate change, ensemble modeling, marine ecosystem models, Canada Exclusive Economic Zone, Fish-MIP, projection uncertainty
Research Division:Environmental Sciences
Research Group:Climate change impacts and adaptation
Research Field:Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Objective Division:Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:Fisheries - wild caught
Objective Field:Fisheries - wild caught not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:Blanchard, JL (Professor Julia Blanchard)
ID Code:144008
Year Published:2020
Web of Science® Times Cited:14
Deposited By:Ecology and Biodiversity
Deposited On:2021-04-14
Last Modified:2021-06-23
Downloads:12 View Download Statistics

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