September 17, 2020 — As oceans warm due to climate change, scientists are trying to predict how marine animals—from backboned fish to spineless jellyfish—will react. Laboratory experiments indicate that many could theoretically tolerate temperatures far higher than what they encounter today. But these studies don’t mean that marine animals can maintain their current ranges in warmer oceans, according to Curtis Deutsch, an associate professor of oceanography at the University of Washington.
“Temperature alone does not explain where in the ocean an animal can live,” said Deutsch. “You must consider oxygen: how much is present in the water, how well an organism can take up and utilize it, and how temperature affects these processes.”
Species-specific characteristics, overall oxygen levels and water temperature combine to determine which parts of the ocean are “breathable” for different ocean-dwelling creatures. New research led by Deutsch shows that a wide variety of marine animals—from vertebrates to crustaceans to mollusks—already inhabit the maximum range of breathable ocean that their physiology will allow.