Biodiv Sci ›› 2012, Vol. 20 ›› Issue (6): 745-754.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2012.10051

• Research Report • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Progress and prospect of climate change and marine biodiversity

Jianguo Du1, William W.L. Cheung2, Bin Chen1,*(), Qiulin Zhou1, Shengyun Yang3, Guanqiong Ye4   

  1. 1 Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen 361005, China
    2 Fisheries Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada
    3 College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
    4 Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 117543, Singapore
  • Received:2012-02-13 Accepted:2012-05-18 Online:2012-11-20 Published:2013-01-04
  • Contact: Bin Chen

Abstract:

The relationship between biodiversity and climate change is a primary focal point of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Marine biodiversity is an important part of global biodiversity, therefore, it is imperative to have a thorough understanding of the relationship of climate change and marine organism. We reviewed the research about the relationship of climate changes and marine target species like Clupea pallasi, marine population structure such as zooplankton in East China Sea, marine ecosystems like coral reef and mangrove, and forecasting models such as dynamics bioclimate envelope models. We also identified the current status of climate change in China. Based on our analysis, we developed a set of research strategies including attaching importance to target species, enhancing marine animal population, identifying sensitive marine ecosystems, continuing long term studies, developing simulations on marine biodiversity under different climate change scenarios, and using ocean geographyic information system (GIS).

Key words: climate change, target species, scenarios study, marine biota, GIS, population history