FT.com: At AAAS, climate fraud from Huw Griffiths of the British Antarctic Survey.

Sea life hit by climate change

Climate change is having a big impact on life in the oceans around Antarctica, the AAAS annual meeting in San Diego heard yesterday.

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life, an investigation started in 2005, has identified 6,000 species living on the sea floor, half of them unique to Antarctica. The survey is already finding changes.

Populations of krill, the tiny shrimp-like creatures eaten by penguins, whales and seals, are falling as ice cover shrinks. Smaller crustaceans, or copepods, are increasing fast.

The effect is to shift the balance of the food chain in favour of jellyfish, which are not eaten by penguins and other large predators, said Huw Griffiths of the British Antarctic Survey.

“The polar regions are amongst the fastest warming places on earth and predictions suggest that in the future we’ll see warming sea surface temperatures, rising ocean acidification and decreasing winter sea ice – all of which have a direct effect on marine life,” he added.