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Global climate change amplifies the entry of tropical species into the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Author(s) -
Raitsos Dionysios E.,
Beaugrand Gregory,
Georgopoulos Dimitrios,
Zenetos Argyro,
Pancucci-Papadopoulou Antonietta M.,
Theocharis Alexander,
Papathanassiou Evangelos
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.2010.55.4.1478
Subject(s) - mediterranean climate , global warming , biodiversity , climate change , mediterranean sea , alien , oceanography , habitat , global change , environmental science , global temperature , salinity , ecology , forcing (mathematics) , effects of global warming on oceans , global biodiversity , sea surface temperature , temperature salinity diagrams , geography , climatology , biology , geology , politics , citizenship , political science , law
Using long‐term data of 149 warm alien species since 1924, we show that the introduction of warm and tropical alien species has been exacerbated by the observed warming of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The phenomenon has accelerated after an abrupt shift in both regional and global temperatures that we detect around 1998, leading to a 150% increase in the annual mean rate of species entry after this date. Abrupt rising temperature since the end of the 1990s has modified the potential thermal habitat available for warm‐water species, facilitating their settlement at an unexpectedly rapid rate. The speed of alien species spreading and response to global warming is apparently much faster than temperature increase itself, presenting an important warning for the future of Mediterranean Sea biodiversity. In addition to the sea warming, other factors that enable and enhance biological invasions, such as salinity increase and oceanographic forcing, are also discussed.