Tropical plankton invade Arctic waters
For the first time, scientists have identified tropical and
subtropical species of marine protozoa living in the Arctic Ocean.
Apparently, they traveled thousands of miles on Atlantic currents and
ended up above Norway with an unusualbut naturally cyclicpulse of warm
water, not as a direct result of overall warming climate, say the
researchers. On the other hand: arctic waters are warming rapidly, and
such pulses are predicted to grow as global climate change causes shifts
in long-distance currents. Thus, colleagues wonder if the exotic
creatures offers a preview of climate-induced changes already overtaking
the oceans and land, causing redistributions of species and shifts in
ecology. The study, by a team from the United States, Norway and Russia,
was just published in the British Journal of Micropalaeontology.
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