Impact of climate warming upon the fish assemblages of the Portuguese coast

Fish species richness of the Portuguese coastal waters has been estimated to increase for 1 and 2°C sea-surface warming until the year 2100. A commercial opportunity for fisheries may arise from climate warming, since most of the new species were commercial species and not many commercial species were lost.

The comparison of the present species composition and future scenarios in terms of biogeographic type of species revealed the beginning of a shift from a subtropical–temperate fish assemblage toward a more subtropical–tropical fish assemblage.

Source: Vinagre et al., 2011. Regional Environmental Change 11: 779–789.

Photo: Lorna Mitchell (www.flickr.com)