A GIANT whale shark has been spotted in the Strait of Gibraltar as warm-water tropical fish are increasingly making Spanish waters their home.
This animal is considered the largest fish in the world and is one of four species that have been spotted as moving from warm waters to the Strait and Alboran Sea, marking changes to the area’s marine ecosystems.
The presence of these warm-water species have been studied by researchers in a new report by the specialised Journal of Marine Science and Engineering.
Analysing changes that have occurred between fish communities in different areas of Spain and comparing them with the Mediterranean North Western seas was a team of international scientists who have dedicated their time to looking through three decades’ worth of data.
This thorough analysis has led to a number of conclusions, some of which centre on the increasing temperature of waters.
In the Strait of Gibraltar the waters are increasing by 2C per century and this speed is concerning researchers as in other parts of the planet the rising temperatures are occurring much more slowly.
The warm waters are changing ecosystems but this climate change is not the only factor that explains the emergence of new species.
Researchers are also putting the changes down to recent human activity which has facilitated the arrival of these new marine organisms in the area.
In the North Western areas that researchers compared the Strait to, they found up to fifteen new species but not all of them came from waters – in fact some were from colder environments.
This new study has highlighted the ever-changing state of marine ecosystems and warned us of new species set to arrive on Gibraltar’s shores.
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