• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Unprecedented number of warm-water species moved northward during marine heatwave

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 12, 2019
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Tropical species near San Francisco? New range limit records indicate future face of California coast

IMAGE

Credit: Jackie Sones/UC Davis

During the marine heatwave of 2014-16, scientists from the University of California, Davis, noticed creatures typically seen only in places like Baja California, Mexico, showing up outside the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory. These included warm-water species of jellyfish, crabs, nudibranchs, fish and even dolphins and sea turtles.

Their study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, documents an unprecedented number of southern marine species moving northward into California and as far north as Oregon. Of 67 rare, warm-water species sightings observed by the authors and citizen scientists, 37 had never been documented so far north before.

Among the 37 with new northern range limits are tropical creatures like the striated sea butterfly, which had not been found north of Baja. This is the first record of them in the state of California.

Another unexpected visitor was the pelagic red crab, normally restricted to the waters off central and southern Baja. But during 2014-16, when water temperatures were 3.5 to 7 degrees F warmer than usual, the crabs were seen as far north as Newport, Oregon.

And the molt of a spiny lobster–an important fishery species in Baja–turned up in Bodega Bay.

“Against the backdrop of climate change, we hope southern species will track northward because that’s necessary for their persistence and survival,” said lead author Eric Sanford, a UC Davis professor of ecology and evolution. “It’s perhaps a glimpse of what Northern California’s coast might look like in the future as ocean temperatures continue to warm.”

WARM WATER BLOB

“The Blob” of warm water moved from the Gulf of Alaska south along the Pacific coast, a major El Nino event worked its way from the equator north to California. Together, these events created unusually warm water conditions and one of the longest marine heatwaves on record.

Marine heatwaves temporarily open a door between lower latitudes and the northern coast. The longer that door is open, the greater the number of southern species that can step through it. The 2014-16 event was so long and warm, it allowed southern species to enter California and move northward. Current reversals, where water flowed northward from Monterey Bay, also aided the species on their journeys. This combination led to the record-breaking number of species moving northward, the study said.

NEW SETTLERS

Most of the visitors were ephemeral. The brightly colored nudibranchs, for instance, disappeared almost as soon as the water cooled. But some seem to have established a foothold in Northern California. These include the sunburst anemone, chocolate porcelain crab, a brittle star and some barnacle species.

Sanford said these southern species were absent or rare from Bodega Bay in the 1970s but are now fairly common in the area.

BAROMETER OF CHANGE

The marine ecologists and oceanographers who authored the study view such geographical shifts as an indication of how these communities may continue to respond to warming oceans, as more marine heatwaves are expected in the future.

“Before our very eyes, we’re seeing the species composition shift to more warm-water southern animals in just the 14 years I have been at the Bodega Marine Laboratory,” said Sanford. “That’s a barometer of change for these ecosystems.”

###

The study’s coauthors include Jacqueline Sones and John Largier from UC Davis, Marisol Garcia-Reyes from Farallon Institute, and Jeffrey H.R. Goddard from UC Santa Barbara.

Radar data for the study were funded in part by NOAA’s United States Integrated Ocean Observing System.

Media Contact
Kat Kerlin
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40784-3

Tags: BiodiversityBiologyClimate ChangeEcology/EnvironmentEvolutionFisheries/AquacultureMarine/Freshwater BiologyPopulation BiologyTemperature-Dependent Phenomena
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Machine Learning Uncovers Sorghum’s Complex Mold Resistance

July 20, 2025
blank

Archaeal Ribosome Shows Unique Active Site, Hibernation Factor

July 17, 2025

Mobile Gene Regulator Balances Arabidopsis Shoot-Root Growth

July 16, 2025

Mobile Transcription Factor Drives Nitrogen Deficiency Response

July 16, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    58 shares
    Share 23 Tweet 15
  • New Organic Photoredox Catalysis System Boosts Efficiency, Drawing Inspiration from Photosynthesis

    54 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • IIT Researchers Unveil Flying Humanoid Robot: A Breakthrough in Robotics

    53 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13
  • AI Achieves Breakthrough in Drug Discovery by Tackling the True Complexity of Aging

    70 shares
    Share 28 Tweet 18

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Additive Manufacturing of Monolithic Gyroidal Solid Oxide Cells

Machine Learning Uncovers Sorghum’s Complex Mold Resistance

Pathology Multiplexing Revolutionizes Disease Mapping

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.