Climate change and its impact on aquaculture. In: Winter School on Impact of Climate Change on Indian Marine Fisheries held at CMFRI, Cochin 18.1.2008 to 7.2.2008

Abstract

The aquatic environment will respond to climate changes in ways that are as equally significant as the responses of the terrestrial and atmospheric environments. The changes may be more gradual and less apparent than those taking place in the atmosphere, because of the ability of the oceans and large water bodies to absorb and distribute heat. Therefore, fluctuations about the mean temperature will tend to be smaller than in the atmosphere. By the same token however, the aquatic ecology will be less tolerant to wide temperature ranges than its terrestrial counterparts, and the rate at which natural habitat changes will challenge the adaptive capacity of species.