Chapter 12 - Changing biomass flows in marine ecosystems: from the past to the future

Abstract

Anthropogenic modifications of the biosphere have led to drastic global changes in the structure and functioning of the marine food webs, and ultimately in the productivity, stability, and resilience of marine ecosystems. This chapter summarizes the temperature effects on biomass transfers in marine food webs. We studied the temperature effects using two characteristics of biomass transfer: the efficiency of the biomass flow and the residence time of the biomass. Our aim was to better understand the functioning of biomass transfer in marine ecosystems since 1950 to be able to produce insights into the future changes due to global climate change. We identified a clear temperature effect on the functioning of the marine ecosystem, suggesting that warmer oceans are likely to result in faster and less efficient biomass flows. The expected changes are obviously a major issue for the future of fisheries and for many other services provided by marine ecosystems to humans.