A plankton decline caused by warmer water in the North Atlantic may be hurting cod stocks as much as overfishing, Scottish researchers say.
Nick Kamenos, a research fellow at the University of Glasgow, and members of his team examined algae deposits along the west coast of Scotland to determine historic temperatures in shallow coastal waters going back to the 14th century, The Scotsman reports. They say the water has been getting consistently warmer since the end of the Little Ice Age, a North Atlantic cold spell that lasted from 1400 to 1700.
Calanus finmarchicus, a zooplankton that is an important source of food for cod and other fish species, has been dropping in numbers as a result. Kamenos predicted a steep drop by 2040 that could play havoc with the ocean food chain.
The average summertime water temperature has increased 2.7 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), about twice the average increase of the winter temperature.
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