2016 SoE Marine Chapter - Case Study - Plankton and climate change

Brief description

The Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment (SoE) report incorporates multiple expert templates developed from streams of marine data. This metadata record describes the Case Study "Plankton and climate change". The full Case Study, including figures and tables (where provided), is attached to this record. Where available, the Data Stream(s) used to generate this Case Study are accessible through the "On-line Resources" section of this record. ---------------------------------------- DESCRIPTION OF THE FOCUS OF THE CASE STUDY Plankton is the foundation of the marine food web and supports nearly all life in our oceans. Plankton species are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health and climate change because they are abundant, short-lived, not harvested, and sensitive to changes in temperature, acidity and nutrients. ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE On local scales plankton are sensitive to eutrophication, over regional scales to invasive species and fisheries, and over large continental scales to climate change. There is growing evidence from Australia that plankton communities are being altered by climate change and this is likely resonate up food webs to higher trophic levels. DATA STREAM(S) USED IN CASE STUDY IMOS plankton data – both from the National Reference Stations and the Australian Continuous Plankton Recorder survey.

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Statement: QUALITY OF DATA USED IN THE CASE STUDY Best available.

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Purpose
To describe the Case Study "Plankton and climate change" for use in the Marine chapter of the 2016 State of the Environment report.