Marine ecosystems are critically affected by current and future climate change. Expert reviews from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that climate change will induce temperature changes and associated adjustments in ocean circulation, ice coverage and sea level. Such changes will affect life-history parameters of marine top predators (mammals, birds, large pelagic fish) via changes in habitat features (e.g. ice cover) and availability of food resources (bottom–up effects), or will alter the role that predators play in marine ecosystems (top-down effects). This collection of papers will include case studies showing how environmental change has affected life-history strategies among large marine predators, or how environmental change may affect the role that these species play as top-level predators in marine ecosystems.
Marine ecosystems are critically affected by current and future climate change. Expert reviews from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that climate change will induce temperature changes and associated adjustments in ocean circulation, ice coverage and sea level. Such changes will affect life-history parameters of marine top predators (mammals, birds, large pelagic fish) via changes in habitat features (e.g. ice cover) and availability of food resources (bottom–up effects), or will alter the role that predators play in marine ecosystems (top-down effects). This collection of papers will include case studies showing how environmental change has affected life-history strategies among large marine predators, or how environmental change may affect the role that these species play as top-level predators in marine ecosystems.