Summary

The MarClim project was a four year multi-partner funded project created to investigate the effects of climatic warming on marine biodiversity. In particular the project aimed to use intertidal species, whose abundances had been shown to fluctuate with changes in climatic conditions, as indicator species of likely responses of species not only on rocky shores, but also those found offshore. The project used historic time series data, from, in some cases the 1950’s onwards, and contemporary data collected as part of the MarClim project (2001-2005), to provide evidence of changes in the abundance, range and population structure of intertidal species and relate these changes to recent rapid climatic warming. In particular, quantitative counts of barnacles, limpets and trochids were made as well as semi-quantitative surveys of up to 56 intertidal taxa. Historic and contemporary data informed experiments to understand mechanisms behind these changes and models to predict future species ranges and abundances.

Authors:Mieszkowska N. Leaper R. Moore P. Kendall M.A. Burrows M.T. Lear D. Poloczanska E. Hiscock K. Moschella P.S. Thompson R.C. Herbert R.J. Laffoley D. Baxter J. Southward A.J. Hawkins S.J. Published in: 2005 Category 1: Peer-reviewed literature Program area: Southern Ocean Ecosystems
Mieszkowska N., Leaper R., Moore P., Kendall M.A., Burrows M.T., Lear D., Poloczanska E., Hiscock K., Moschella P.S., Thompson R.C., Herbert R.J., Laffoley D., Baxter J., Southward A.J., Hawkins S.J. (2005) Marine Biodiversity and Climate Change: Assessing and predicting the influence of climatic change using intertidal rocky shore biota, Marine Biological Association Occasional Publications 20. 55pp;
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