Warming ocean water is already causing visible changes to the marine life along the central California coast, according to a great story in the San Francisco Chronicle. The story takes as its jumping-off point the changing composition of tidepools in Monterrey Bay, based on water temperatures that have risen three degrees Fahrenheit – and water levels that have risen a couple of inches – over the last six decades.

A retired professor who first studied the tidepools of central California as a graduate student 50 years ago told the Chronicle he’s finding a different mix of sea creatures today. Certain types of sea anemones and other marine invertebrates that normally live in more southern locales are turning up near Santa Cruz. The newspaper also reports that zooplankton – a critical food source for the entire ocean food chain – has decreased by as much as 70% since the warming began.

Further warming of the world’s oceans, caused by climate change, could have a huge impact on creatures from fish to birds to marine mammals to land mammals, including humans.

Photo credit: NOAA