You are here: Home › Stressors › Climate Change › Current Programs › Climate Change Impacts
Climate Change Impacts -"Climate Change and Intertidal Risk Analysis"
Program
Highlights
The intertidal zone, which lies between the high and low tide marks on the shores of the worlds' oceans, is an especially sensitive indicator of the effects of climate variability and climate change on marine species. Animals and plants that live in this habitat must contend with the ocean environment at high tide, and the terrestrial environment at low tide. As a result, their body temperatures may fluctuate as much as 10° or 20°C over the course of a single low tide.
This project is examining the effects of long-term temperature changes on the population biology of dominant species in intertidal areas. These include animals that can either disrupt sediments (e.g., shrimp and worms) or build tubes and reefs (e.g., worms, oysters) in sandy and muddy areas. For rocky shores, the targeted organisms are those that occupy and create hard surfaces, such as barnacles and mussels. Ultimately, the project will forecast the impact of climate change on the suitability of estuaries and rocky intertidal shores as nursery grounds for commercially and recreationally important marine species.
For more information contact Elizabeth Turner at Elizabeth.Turner@noaa.gov.