Warming Oceans Put Kink in Food Chain, Study Says

The growth of tiny plants at the base of the ocean food chain is tightly linked to changes in the climate, according to a recent study.

The finding shows that as temperatures warm, the growth of single-celled ocean plants called phytoplankton slows at Earth's mid and low latitudes. The plants' growth increases when the climate cools.

While the findings are related to short-term changes in climate, they help scientists predict how the ocean will respond to long-term climate change, according to Jorge Sarmiento, an atmospheric and ocean scientist at Princeton University in New Jersey.

"This is telling us we can expect reduced biological production [the ability to support life such as plants, fish, and wildlife] with global warming in many regions of the world," he said.

Sarmiento is a co-author of the study, which was published last month in the science journal Nature.

Michael Behrenfeld, a botanist at Oregon State University in Corvallis, was lead author of the study. He said the research demonstrates a solid link between climate change and marine life.