March 30, 2012 – Rising water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have some scientists concerned about the impact on ocean life — and the ripple effects.
This winter's warmth has helped drive up water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, and the warm waters could lead lobsters to molt their shells and ocean algae to bloom earlier than usual.
The continuing trend raises long-term questions about how rising ocean temperatures might affect the growth and reproduction cycles and distribution of fish and shellfish, whales, zooplankton and other marine life throughout the gulf.
Temperature affects all life processes, but it's too soon to say whether changes brought on by rising water temperatures will be good or bad, said Jeffrey Runge, a biological oceanographer at the University of Maine and a researcher at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland.
"Higher temperature means higher growth rates, but it also means they require more food in order to attain those higher growth rates," he said. "But whether there will be more food around, I don't know."