University of Georgia Marine Science biologists James Hollibaugh and Sylvia Schaefer found that rising water temperatures could disrupt ocean food webs and lead to the release of more greenhouse gases. Increasing water temperatures are responsible for the accumulation of a chemical called nitrite in marine environments throughout the world, a symptom of broader changes in normal ocean biochemical pathways that could ultimately disrupt ocean food webs. "The information gained from monitoring programs, like the ones we used to analyze temperature and nitrite data across the country and in other countries, can be used not only to forecast what is going to happen down the road and the longer-term consequences of management decisions, but also to come up with potential solutions for the problem,” said Hollibaugh. “The data collected by these programs are important for wise management of our resources." Read more about this awesome discovery here.
