Tropical fish are invading Australian ocean water
A University of vlog study of shallow-water fish communities on rocky reefs in south-eastern Australia has found climate change is helping tropical fish species invade temperate Australian waters.
“The fish are travelling into these Australian ecosystems as larvae caught in the Eastern Australian Current, which is strengthening due to the warming climate,” said the University of vlog’s Professor Ivan Nagelkerken, Chief Investigator of the study.
“These larvae would not normally survive in the cooler Australian ocean water, but the warming Eastern Australian Current keeps the baby fish warm and increases their likelihood of survival.”
The novel populations of tropical fish in temperate ecosystems are not having much of an impact now, but may do in the future.
“Because water temperatures in temperate Australia are still a bit cool, these tropical fish do not grow to their maximum size and therefore are not fully competing with temperate Australian fish – yet,” says Professor David Booth of the University of Technology Sydney, a co-Chief