Squids Abundant in World’s Oceans
Squids seemed to be exempted from the negative impact of climate change as their population continues to surge over the past 60 years even with the changing ocean environment.
According to the study conducted by a team of international researchers from the University Environment Institute in Adelaide, cephalopod abundance has increased since the 1950s. This result is remarkably consistent across three distinct groups which are composed of squids, cuttlefish and octopus.
What is causing the proliferation of the squids in the oceans?
Dr Zoë Doubleday, the lead author of the research has interesting answer to this question. The surging number of squids in the oceans has something to do with the squids’ capabilities to adapt to changing environmental conditions (such as temperature) more quickly than many other marine species.
The researcher suggests that cephalopods may be benefiting from the changing ocean environment.
Other Factors: Overfishing, Human Activities and Global Warming
The researchers also found interesting factors for the increasing number of squids in world’s oceans.
According to Project leader Professor Bronwyn Gillanders, large-scale changes to the marine environment attributed to human activities, may be driving the global increase in cephalopods.
In addition, they are important group of invertebrates that are highly sensitive to changes in the environment.
The researchers are still investigating what may be causing them to proliferate. They have two theories. It could be global warming and overfishing of fish species to be leading factors contributing to the surge of population of squids in the oceans.
‘Weeds of the sea’ on the Rise is Good News For all
Cephalopods play an important role in the marine food web. The groups of marine animals dwell in all marine habitat. They are voracious predators and an important source of food for many marine species, as well as humans.
The increase in numbers apparently does not pose a negative effect at all. In fact, Dr Doubleday asserted that the increase in abundance has significant and complex implications for both the marine food web and humans.
