Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems

Climate change is affecting all marine life, from benthic communities and plankton through to top predators, habitats and whole ecosystems. Our research examines these impacts using multiple approaches. By undertaking experimental studies in our state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, collecting field samples and data, and applying advanced computer simulation techniques to model responses of species and communities, and also by consulting our historic long-term datasets, we are able to understand past and current changes and predict future trends.

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Using historical datasets we have explored changes in abundances and distributions of species such as squid, cod, plaice and sole, and have been able to determine the drivers of these changes, such as temperature and fishing pressure. We have examined temperature effects on the timing of spawning in fish, ocean acidification impacts upon toxicity of sediments and survival of marine invertebrates, and the implications of low oxygen on metabolic scope and rates in fish.

We investigate changes in the distributions of marine species of commercial and conservation importance, to explore future climate impacts and devise potential climate adaptation options. We have examined how non-native marine species in north-west Europe may spread northwards with changing sea temperatures.

We also work on blue carbon ecosystems, which are an important recognised sink of carbon and play an important role in climate change mitigation. Cefas hosts the Secretariat of the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership (UKBCEP).