Impacts of climate change on Australian marine life - Part B: Technical Report

Abstract

The potential impact of climate change on marine life and ecosystems in Australia is considerably less well understood than for the terrestrial biosphere, or indeed other marine systems globally. However, Australia has many unique and important marine ecosystems and species that are likely to be sensitive to climate change. The endemism of marine organisms (species found nowhere else) is very high along Australia’s southern coastline. As the temperature envelopes (area of suitable environment) of these continental shelf and slope organisms shift southward in response to ocean heating, organisms will be unable to follow these southward moving envelopes due to a lack of shelf habitat between southern Australia and Antarctica.