NOAA Fisheries and its partners assessed the vulnerability of marine, estuarine, and riparian habitats in the northeastern United States to climate change. The The findings were recently published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. We found salt marshes, shellfish reefs, deep-water corals, sea grasses, algae and intertidal habitats to be among the most vulnerable. Coastal habitats with the highest climate vulnerability are also those most often at risk of degradation due to coastal development and pollution. The assessment highlights the importance of prioritizing habitat protection and restoration to support climate change resilience and adaptability.
First of its kind assessment
This is the first climate vulnerability assessment for habitats conducted by NOAA Fisheries. We examined the impact of climate change on 52 marine, estuarine and riparian habitats from Cape Hatteras, NC on the Maine-Canada border. It also looked at non-climate factors such as coastal development and pollution.
This review complements the 2016 Northeast Fish and Shellfish Climate Vulnerability Assessmentand other fish stocks, protected species and fishing community climate vulnerability assessments;. It also provides a framework for assessing the relative sensitivity and exposure of habitats to climate change that can be used in other regions. The vulnerability assessment methodology uses information to:
- Habitat characteristics
- Habitat distributions
- Projected future climate and ocean conditions for vulnerability assessment
Specifically, it examines how climate-related changes could affect a habitat. The results are intended to guide research on potential climate impacts on habitats and help decision makers consider how to prepare for and respond to climate-related changes. For example, the 2016 Northeast assessment ranked winter turbot as very vulnerable to climate change. This is due to the low state of stocks in the southern part of its range and the decrease in population productivity associated with the increased temperature near the coast.
The new assessment highlights that habitats important to winterbasket, including submerged aquatic vegetation and tidal wetlands, are vulnerable to higher air and water temperature, sea level rise and habitat fragmentation. The high climate vulnerability of these habitats, and the high dependence of winter flounder on these habitats, suggests a potential critical climate vulnerability nexus for this species.
Update Decisions
Understanding how climate change will affect coastal and marine habitats is essential to making decisions about habitat conservation and restoration, fisheries management, and planning coastal and offshore settlements. The publication includes detailed narratives describing the main drivers of climate vulnerability for each of the habitats in the assessment (PDF, 313 pages). This will be a key tool for habitat conservation decisions.
To increase resilience and adaptability, assessment can help:
- Setting priorities for climate research
- Management of protected species
- Identification of Key Fish Habitats and Areas of Special Concern
Healthy habitats are essential to maintain sustainable fisheries and recover protected species. Understanding habitat vulnerability can provide a more complete picture of the vulnerability of these managed species. This is particularly true in cases where populations are, at least in part, not meeting fishing or recovery goals due to factors other than fishing mortality.
Moving forward
Climate change affects the nation's coastal habitats and species, and the communities that depend on them. The distribution of marine species continues to change due to climate change. It will become increasingly important to understand the availability of habitats in places to which they shift and the factors that influence habitat resilience. This assessment helps better understand these complex dynamics and provides fisheries and habitat managers with information to support decision making.
Reducing stressors on habitats will make them more resilient to the effects of climate change. NOAA Fisheries takes a proactive approach to reducing the impacts of climate change and increasing resilience by assessing the vulnerability of habitats, fish and fishing communities to guide management and conservation measures.
Partners for this review include:
- NOAA Fisheries (Offices of Habitat Conservation, Science & Technology and Sustainable Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries and Northeast Fisheries Science Center)
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- US Geological Survey
- US Environmental Protection Agency
- Office of Ocean Energy Management
- University of Connecticut
- Northeastern University
- University of Maine
