Best of our wild blogs: 11 Jan 13

Kampung Ramble, Sunday Jan 13
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History.

Purple Herons - Advertisement Displays
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Best of our wild blogs: 10 Jan 13

Job Opportunities in Freshwater Ecology with Tropical Marine Science Institute from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

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Flying frog: new species discovered near Ho Chi Minh City

Samantha-Jo Harris Sydney Morning Herald 10 Jan 13;

Usually when the Australian Museum's Dr Jodi Rowley searches for new species of frogs she has to trek to remote locations and through the difficult terrain of Vietnam's mountains.

But Dr Rowley and her Vietnam colleagues were stunned to find their latest discovery of a new species of "flying frog" not too far from one of the largest cities in south-east Asia.

"It was really surprising to come across this huge frog so close to a heavily populated area," Dr Rowley said.

Helen's tree frog (Rhacophorus helenae), named after Dr Rowley's mother, was discovered in a lowland forest in Vietnam, an area completely surrounded by agricultural land, less than 100 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City.

Despite being commonly referred to as a "flying" frog, Dr Rowley says: "The name 'flying' frog is a little misleading as it doesn't really fly. Rather it uses its feet as parachutes to help it glide through the canopy."

But the canopy this 10-centimetre long frog calls home is under threat due to habitat loss and land degradation.

"Usually species are protected because they are in remote locations, but as this frog is so close to human activity it is at a great risk." Dr Rowley said.

She says discoveries of new species are important to conservation as it ensures species are protected.

"These forests are some of the most threatened habitat in the world so discoveries like this are very important. The first thing we need to know is what we have and the second step is to conserve what we discover."

Dr Rowley has been working in the area since 2006 and has made previous discoveries of new species, including the vampire flying frog and working in collaboration to discover and describe 12 new species in south-east Asia.

She says it is not uncommon for certain species to remain undiscovered when they live in the forest canopy.

"Species still do escape scientific attention, which makes every discovery exciting. We often don't know about them and they are protected because they live in areas that are so hard to get to."

Dr Rowley said naming the frog in honour of her mother, Helen, was the perfect way to thank her for years of support.

"At the time my mum had just been recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I thought it was about time I show her how much I appreciate all she has done for me over the years," she said. "It was a very difficult time, but she finished chemotherapy about a year ago and she is doing OK."

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Rogue geoengineering could 'hijack' world's climate

Techniques aimed at averting global warming could lead to an unpredictable international crisis, a report has warned
John Vidal guardian.co.uk 8 Jan 13;

The world's climate could be hijacked by a rogue country or wealthy individual firing small particles into the stratosphere, claims a warning that comes not from a new Hollywood movie trailer but a sober report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The deployment of independent, large-scale "geoengineering" techniques aimed at averting dangerous warming warrants more research because it could lead to an international crisis with unpredictable costs to agriculture, infrastructure and global stability, said the Geneva-based WEF in its annual Global Risks report before the Davos economic summit later this month. It also warned that ongoing economic weakness is sapping the ability of governments to tackle the growing threat of climate change.

"The global climate could, in effect, be hijacked. For example, an island state threatened with rising sea levels may decide they have nothing to lose, or a well-funded individual with good intentions may take matters into their own hands," the report notes. It said there are "signs that this is already starting to occur", highlighting the case of a story broken by the Guardian involving the dumping of 100 tonnes of iron sulphate off the Canadian coast in 2012, in a bid to spawn plankton and capture carbon.

The top two global risks identified for the WEF by more than 1,000 business leaders and experts were the growing wealth gap between rich and poor and a major financial economic crisis. But the next three on the list of 50 were environmental, including climate change, and water and food supply crises.

Lee Howell, the editor of the WEF report, said: "Following a year scarred by extreme weather, from hurricane Sandy to flooding in China, respondents rated rising greenhouse gas emissions as the third most likely global risk overall, while the failure of climate change adaptation is seen as the environmental risk with the most knock-on effects for the next decade. These global risks are essentially a health warning regarding our most critical systems. With the growing cost of events like superstorm Sandy, huge threats to island nations and coastal communities, and no resolution to greenhouse gas emissions, the writing is on the wall. It is time to act."

The economic costs associated with extreme weather and climate change should make governments act, suggests the WEF. "Recent climate and weather events have reminded us of the economic and human cost of the kind of natural disasters that we know are likely to become more frequent and severe as climate continues to change. The estimated economic cost of the 2011 Thailand floods, for example, was $15-20bn and hurricane Katrina $125bn; meanwhile, the 2003 European heatwave resulted in more than 35,000 fatalities and the Horn of Africa droughts in 2011 claimed tens of thousands of lives and threatened the livelihoods of 9.5 million people."

According to the report, the cumulative economic cost of changes to the physical environment as well as health and food security from climate change, range from US$2 trillion to $4tn by 2030.

The authors fear that climate change could become a centre of litigation. "Although the Alaskan village of Kivalina – which faces being "wiped out" by the changing climate – was unsuccessful in its attempts to file a $400m lawsuit against oil and coal companies, future plaintiffs may be more successful. Five decades ago, the US tobacco industry would not have suspected that in 1997 it would agree to pay $368bn in health-related damages. For some businesses, investing in climate change mitigation now could be as much about enterprise risk management as about mitigating a global risk."

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Pasir Ris Heights: Fight to save forest patch hots up

Pasir Ris Heights group protests against plans to build school
Grace Chua Straits Times 9 Jan 13;

A GROUP of Pasir Ris residents, unhappy with a decision to build an international school on a patch of forest near Pasir Ris Heights, is locked in a battle with the authorities.

They claim they will lose a precious piece of woodland and had suggested alternative nearby plots for the school. They also want an independent study of the biodiversity of the forest and for the Government to provide statistical data to support its decision.

But the Ministry of National Development said that the school site was "based on planning considerations, including the need to provide a good distribution of such school sites islandwide".

Still, the group is not satisfied. In a post on its Facebook page on Monday, it said it was "disappointed" with MND's response, which it felt did not "adequately address" the issues it had raised.

It added: "We are seriously considering proceeding with a legal recourse to save the forest."

The battle to save the green space started with a petition last July, after plans to develop the land on either side of the forest patch at the intersection of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Elias Road were made known. The residents also met their MP, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

But one incident on Dec 29 tipped them over - when HDB ordered a tree with about 90 parakeets chopped down because other residents had presumably complained about the noise. They confronted workers preparing to cut it down and, after a discussion about whose authority they were acting on, the workers took their ropes and left.

Two days later, the group published a letter on Facebook which it sent to the MND, Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Parks Board and Singapore Land Authority. It asked if they were "doing this to achieve their end of destroying the forest on the quiet, using what appears to be a fictitious pretence".

It threatened legal action unless the Government gave figures supporting its decisions by Jan 7.

Late on Monday, the MND told residents the attempted felling was to stop the wild tree being toppled by strong winds. It said it was now assessing the tree and insisted the attempted felling "was with the intent to ensure public safety and not to commence clearance of the site".

It also said the dialogue in August with DPM Teo and government officials "was not intended as 'a PR exercise' - it was arranged to allow the agencies to hear the residents' concerns".

"After consideration of the assessment of the local biodiversity and the many competing land uses, we were unable to accede to the residents' request," it added.

The group had insisted that the area was a wildlife haven but the MND said visits by NParks from 2004 to 2012 found "the number of species is considerably lower than in the nature reserves or in many parks and nature areas".

The plot is about the size of two football fields.

A member of the group's committee, lawyer Deepak Natverlal, 42, who has lived in Pasir Ris for 16 years, said the Government's decision to "raze the forest to build an international school despite objections from residents is an unfair and an unreasonable one". He also insisted that surveys by NParks were not independent enough.

Dr Ho Hua Chew of the Nature Society said it did a bird survey at the patch last year and found 30 to 40 species, including hawk-eagles, white-bellied sea eagles and oriental pied hornbills. "Of course you can't compare forest fragments with nature reserves, but the carrying capacity of the nature reserves has been exceeded for some species. That's why they are resorting to these areas outside nature reserves," he said.

Associate Professor Lye Lin Heng, an environmental law scholar at the National University of Singapore, said a legal challenge could be a test case that rests on whether residents have legal standing to stop developments on state land. An argument can be made that the Government holds the land on trust for the people, then they have a right to be consulted, she said.

Background story

10-month battle

April 2012: Land on either side of a forest patch at the intersection of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Elias Road is earmarked for development. June: Residents form the Pasir Ris Greenbelt Committee to protect the patch, which is about the size of two football fields.

July: They start a petition to protect the woodland.

Aug 5: They hold talks with their MP, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Oct 30: The Ministry of National Development (MND) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) send the group a letter saying the site is slated for an international school. It will be encouraged to retain the trees there as a buffer between the school and homes at Pasir Ris Heights.

Nov 18: The group meets DPM Teo, URA, MND and the National Parks Board.

Dec 29: Residents are alarmed when they see workers about to cut down a large tree. Workers stop work after residents protest.

Dec 31: The group sends a letter to agencies following the Nov18 meeting. They want a reply in seven days or "we shall instruct our solicitors to commence legal proceedings".

Jan 7: MND replies that the tree was being felled for safety reasons, and the school was picked based on planning considerations; the group says its questions have not been adequately addressed, so it is seriously "considering proceeding with a legal recourse to save the forest".

No rub of the green for Pasir Ris woodland
'Considerably lower' number of species at proposed school site than in nature reserves: MND
Neo Chai Chin Today Online 9 Jan 13;

SINGAPORE - The Ministry of National Development (MND) has provided more details on its decision to develop an international school at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Elias Road - the latest round of engagement between the authorities and some residents who want the forested area preserved.

The secondary vegetation on the land is suitable for a range of animal and bird life, but the number of species there is "considerably lower" than in nature reserves and many other nature areas in Singapore, wrote the MND's Manager for Strategic Planning Loo Jian Sheng in an email to the Pasir Ris Greenbelt Committee on Monday. The committee comprises residents who initiated a petition last July that garnered over 1,200 signatures.

Sites designated as nature reserves must be rich in native biodiversity across several taxonomic groups, such as plants, mammals and reptiles, he said.

Mr Loo's reply, posted on the committee's Facebook page, stated that the authorities had considered options to salvage and relocate the plants and animals at the site, but identified no rare plant species that needed to be salvaged.

"There are lower risks in permitting animal species to move out of the area themselves at the start of land clearance, than would be incurred by attempting to capture and remove them," he added.

The area in question is the size of two football fields and home to more than 30 bird species, including the endangered Changeable Hawk Eagle and critically endangered Oriental Pied Hornbill.

Before Monday's reply, Mr Loo had written to residents last October to say that plans for the international school would go ahead.

The residents then met with their Member of Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, and government agency representatives on Nov 18 and expressed dejection at what they felt was a lack of transparency and sincerity from the authorities in managing the issue. The MND promised to follow up with a clearer explanation, but things came to a head on Dec 29, when a big tree in the woodland nearly got cut down.

Residents halted the contractor's work and wrote again to the authorities. The MND told TODAY that the Albizia tree was identified for removal for public safety under the National Parks Board's (NParks) Tree Management Programme.

Mr Loo wrote to the residents that NParks is now doing a "detailed assessment" of whether the tree needs to be felled for safety reasons.

But the Greenbelt Committee is still unsatisfied with the MND's reply. Committee member Cherry Fong said the Urban Redevelopment Authority has yet to explain the need to clear the woodland "when there may be other alternative sites" for the school.

"Every effort" should be made to protect areas with endangered or uncommon species, even if they belong to one taxonomic group, and the committee has proposed an alternative site of less biodiversity importance, she said.

The committee will deliberate on further options to preserve the woodland, Ms Fong added.

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Trawling ban in Hong Kong waters hopes to increase fish numbers

WWF 8 Jan 13;

Since 2005, WWF-Hong Kong has tirelessly campaigned for a ban on trawling in Hong Kong waters. Finally this long awaited ban came into effect on 1 January 2013.

WWF sees this as a bold and encouraging step taken by the government on local marine conservation. This first-ever fisheries management measure will safeguard the diversity of marine life and ecological integrity of the Hong Kong marine environment.

Populations of marine fish like croakers and groupers should increase by 20 to 30 per cent from now on. WWF hopes that the Hong Kong government will continue to provide support to the affected fishers and help them switch to other livelihoods such as marine eco-tourism.

The fishing practice of trawling has resulted in catching different marine species at random and damaging the seabed over the past few decades. It is also believed to be one of the main reasons leading to the almost collapsed status of the marine ecosystem in Hong Kong.

According to fisheries scientists, it was predicted that five years after the implementation of the trawling ban, populations of squid and cuttlefish would increase by 40 per cent and reef fish by 10 to 20 per cent, populations of larger fish, such as groupers and croakers, would surge by 30 to 45 per cent.

In the long term, the increase in fish catch will result in the stability of supply and quality of local seafood, and the public will also be able to enjoy a healthier marine environment.

Responding to the argument that trawling ban may impact the livelihoods of fishermen, Ms Samantha Lee, Senior Conservation Officer, Marine of WWF-Hong Kong stated that, “WWF has been actively engaging with fishing communities, marine related business operators and the government for one year. We believe that developing marine eco-tourism would unlock the potential of the sea and provide viable alternative livelihoods for the fishermen. WWF also urges the government to continue to help the affected fishers to switch jobs, consult the relevant stakeholders and formulate a holistic policy towards sustainable marine eco-tourism.”

WWF points out that apart from overfishing, rampant coastal development also contributes to the depletion of marine resources. WWF urges the government to implement Marine Spatial Planning immediately, which will put sound strategies and plans in place while ensuring better conservation of marine life, and better utilization of marine resources. Through this proactive and integrated planning approach, society will be able to achieve the ecological, economic and social objectives.

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Australia battles hundreds of wildfires, fanned by outback winds

Rob Taylor PlanetArk 9 Jan 13;

Australian fire crews battled hundreds of wildfires, a searing heatwave and powerful, hot outback winds on Tuesday, but we're hopeful they had dodged a potentially catastrophic fire day without loss of life or major damage.

Hundreds of people were forced to evacuate homes as fires raged in southeast Australia, while some had no choice but to seek shelter in their homes as fires approached. Temperatures soared to more than 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).

Fire fighters hope cooler weather sweeping up the Australian east coast late on Tuesday, which saw temperatures fall 20 degrees Celsius in a matter of hours in some coastal towns, would ease the incendiary conditions.

"It's very much a moveable feast with many fires still being identified," said New South Wales (NSW) state fire commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, warning a respite would not come for some hours and would last only days before searing heat driven by outback winds returned.

The severe fire conditions replicated those of 2009, when "Black Saturday" wildfires in Victoria state killed 173 people and caused $4.4 billion worth of damage.

After a week-long heatwave bushfires are ablaze in five of Australia's six states, with more than 137 fires in the most populous state NSW, and in forests around the capital Canberra.

Around 100 houses, the majority on the island state of Tasmania, have been destroyed by bushfires in recent days, and many people are still missing in fire-ravaged areas.

More than 40 fires raged out of control on Tuesday as thousands of firefighters and more than 60 water-bombing aircraft battled the blazes, some suspected of having been lit by arsonists.

Fire officials declared five areas of southern NSW as catastrophic, meaning if fires ignited they could not be controlled and advised people to evacuate.

"We grabbed the photo albums, suitcases, clothes and jewelry and ended up getting out while we could," said Hallie Fernandez who runs a bed and breakfast motel at Brogo in NSW, where an out-of-control bushfire was burning.

In Australia's biggest city Sydney, where the temperature hit 41.8 degrees Celsius, thousands flocked to the city's iconic beaches, while zookeepers hosed down animals to help them cope with temperatures that tested national records.

The blistering heat also caused a blaze at a nuclear research facility in southern Sydney after cabling overheated in a nearby electricity substation, while thousands of homes in the city's north experienced power outages due to soaring demand.

In the outback city of Broken Hill, the mercury hit 45.1 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit), while the country's biggest highway between Sydney and Melbourne was cut by fires that surrounded people in the township of Tarcutta.

"The heat has been so intense that tar on the road has been melting and sticking to my shoes," retired Australian journalist Malcolm Brown said from central NSW.

The record heatwave forced the Australian Bureau of Meteorology to extend its extreme temperature limit, adding new pink and purple colors to forecast maps to allow for temperatures of above 54 degrees Celsius (129 Fahrenheit).

The bureau is forecasting 54 degrees Celsius in central Australia next Monday.

The heatwave, which began in Western Australia on December 27 and lasted eight days, was the fiercest in more than 80 years in that state and has spread east across the nation, making it the widest-ranging heatwave in more than a decade.

Strong wind gusts had created a "dome of heat" covering much of the island continent, said climate experts.

Australia, the world's driest inhabited continent, is particularly vulnerable to bushfires, fuelled each summer by extreme heat and by what scientists say is creeping climate shift blamed for hotter average temperatures globally.

Authorities warned earlier in the Australian summer that much of the country faced extreme fire conditions this season, after several years of cooler conditions that had aided forest growth, but also created tinder dry fire fuel conditions.

(Editing by Michael Perry)

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Best of our wild blogs: 8 Jan 13

Our SG Conversation for the Green Community
from AsiaIsGreen

Where does garbage from ships in Singapore go?
from wild shores of singapore

Toddycats’ last event of 2012 – Nature Interpretation workshop
from Toddycats!

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Malaysia: All abuzz over pod of dolphins

Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 8 Jan 13;

CLOSE ENCOUNTER: Mammals’ sighting goes viral on social media

KOTA KINABALU: PICTURES of dolphins swimming and frolicking at sea near Gaya Island near here went viral on Facebook and Twitter, attracting hundreds of comments.

The mammals were first spotted by Borneo Dream Travel and Tours staff and customers on Thursday while another pod was sighted two days later.

An expert on marine mammals, Dr Lindsay Porter, said her recent study in the proposed Tun Mustapha marine park showed that the presence of dolphins in Kudat waters occurred sporadically.

"They are largely visitors from further offshore. This appears similar to what occurs in Kota Kinabalu waters and Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP).

"As dolphins appear only sporadically, it is difficult to figure out what influences the dolphins' movements," she told the New Straits Times.

Porter, who works with the World Wide Fund for Nature, also deals with whales, porpoises and dugongs. She said that the dolphins' appearance in local waters was unlike the dugongs which rely exclusively on sea grass habitat that is located inshore.

According to her, dugongs (commonly known as sea cows) were seen relatively regularly off Kudat as well as Mantanani island where one or two species have lived for years.

"Two dolphin species are found in the waters off Kinabatangan, and it is possible to better understand how the mammals interact with the environment.

"Kinabatangan dolphins are influenced by the flow of the river which means they occur where fresh water and the sea converge."

Porter said that changing weather patterns would have a greater effect on Kinabatangan dolphins compared with "visiting" dolphins which occur in waters off Kota Kinabalu and Kudat.

Borneo Dream director and professional diver Joanne Cotterill, said any sighting in or near TARP was a surprise and "a very lucky one".

She said these mammals were normally found further offshore in deeper waters where there was ideally more abundant fish life for them.

"I am continually surprised by the amazing marine life we come across in TARP. Our staff and guests had the pleasure of watching a pod of around 20 dolphins near Gaya Island (on Thursday).

"They were swimming in two groups. We were indeed lucky to have a close encounter with the dolphins at the start of our snorkelling and diving trip."

As for whale sharks, Cotterill said the migration season along the West coast of Sabah was between January and March.

Many divers were now anticipating the presence of this slow-moving filter feeding shark where they were known to follow a typical migration path.

"How long they spend here is impacted by plankton blooms.

"We had three sightings last year near Sapi Island but most sightings occur on the north side of Gaya Island where the plankton congregates as a result of the underlying tides."

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Conflicts between wild elephants and humans on the rise in Riau

Antara 7 Jan 13;

Pekanbaru (ANTARA News) - Wild elephants often go on a rampage in several villages of Riau province, and the latest such incident took place in Rokan Hulu district.

"We feel terrorized by a herd of adult elephants that often wander into our plantation areas. This incident is not the first of its kind," Seroja village head Muhammad Dain said here on Monday.

On Sunday (January 6), a herd of seven elephants went on a rampage in the settlement and plantation areas of Kepenuhan Barat and Seroja villages in Kepenuhan sub-district, Rokan Hulu.

Tens of hectares of oil palm plantation were damaged by the herd, while three elephants entered human settlement areas.

"We have asked the local authorities to help us handle this problem," Dain stated.

Julianto, an inhabitant of Pasir Pandak, said he was worried about the elephants` rampage and was afraid to go to oil palm plantations.

"I am afraid because the elephants often come in the morning and afternoon. Therefore, I go to the plantation at noon," he noted.

According to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) data, 15 elephants were killed in human-elephant conflicts in Riau last year.

Shrinkage of elephant habitat is considered to be one of the main factors that triggered human-elephant conflicts.

The population of Sumatran elephants (Elephant maximus sumatranus), the smallest of the Asian elephants, was estimated to be between 2,400 and 2,800 in 2007, down 35 percent from the 5,000 elephants recorded in 1992.

Among the factors that led to a decline in the elephant population were deforestation, poaching and human encroachment of the animal`s habitat.

Human-elephant conflicts also often occur in the Aceh, Lampung and Jambi provinces of Sumatra Island, claiming the lives of both humans and elephants. During the 2000-07 period, such conflicts led to the death of 42 people and 100 elephants in Sumatra.
(Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH

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Poachers kill 11 elephants in worst Kenyan attack

George Obulutsa PlanetArk 8 Jan 13;

Poachers killed a family of 11 elephants in the biggest single mass shooting of the animals on record in Kenya, wildlife officials said on Monday.

A gang of about 10 attackers hacked off the elephants' tusks in Tsavo East National Park on Saturday, officials said - the latest sign of a resurgence of mostly Asian demand for ivory jewelry and ornaments.

"(It) shows the great lengths these criminal cartels are ready to go to get ivory. It's really tragic," Kenya Wildlife Service spokesman Paul Udo told Reuters via Twitter.

He said it was the worst single incident of its kind recorded in the East African country.

Elephant poaching in Kenya declined sharply after 1989 when the government banned trade in ivory.

But there has been a rise in the illegal practice in recent years.

Demand for ornamental ivory is rising fast in Asia, in tandem with growing Chinese influence and investment in Africa, which has opened the door wider for illicit trade in ivory and rhino horn.

The Kenya Wildlife Service said foot, dog and aerial units were hunting a gang.

"The entire family of 11 elephants have been confirmed poached and tusks chopped off. All the carcasses had bullet wounds," the service said in a statement.

In May, 359 tusks weighing 1.6 tonnes impounded in Sri Lanka were found to have come from Kenya's Mombasa port.

Police found 214 tusks worth $1.32 million hidden in a coffin and fertilizer bags in neighboring Tanzania in October. The force said smugglers had planned to transport the ivory to Kenya for onward shipment to Asia.

(Editing by James Macharia and Andrew Heavens)

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Jellyfish numbers aren't soaring

The University of Western Australia Science Alert 7 Jan 13;

Despite widespread belief that the world's jellyfish population is exploding, a new international study suggests that there is no real evidence of a global increase in jellyfish over the past two centuries.

The results of the study, "Recurrent Jellyfish Blooms are a Consequence of Global Oscillations", appear in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

The research was led by Dr Rob Condon of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama, US with experts from the Global Jellyfish Group, a consortium of 30 researchers including lead co-author Winthrop Professor Carlos Duarte of The University of Western Australia's Oceans Institute.

The key finding of the study shows global jellyfish populations undergo concurrent oscillations with successive decadal periods of rise and fall, including a rising phase in the 1990s and early 2000s that has contributed to the current perception of a global increase in jellyfish. The previous period of high jellyfish numbers during the 1970s went unnoticed.

"There are major consequences for getting the answer correct for tourism, fisheries and management decisions as they relate to climate change and changing ocean environments," Professor Duarte said.

"The important aspect about our work is that we have provided the long-term baseline backed with all data available to science, which will enable scientists to build on and eventually repeat these analyses in a decade or two from now to determine whether there has been a real increase in jellyfish.

"The more we know, the better we can manage oceanic ecosystems or respond accurately to future effects of climate change," Professor Duarte said.

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