Effects of climate change on temperate benthic assemblages on the continental shelf in eastern Australia

澳大利亚东南部大陆架上的底栖生境支持澳大利亚一些最具生产力的渔业，并表现出高度的生物多样性和特有性。然而，由于东澳大利亚洋流的影响力增加，该地区的海洋变暖速度是全球平均水平的3.8倍，营养物质枯竭。这项工作将首次明确显示大陆架的物理环境与海底生物群分布之间的关系，预测该地区今后的温度和营养变化，并预测这些变化对相关海底生物群的影响。这些预测对于在知情的情况下适应气候变化至关重要。

Benthic habitats on the continental shelf in southeast Australia support some of Australia's most productive fisheries and manifest high levels of biodiversity and endemism. However, the region is experiencing rates of ocean warming 3.8 times the global average and nutrient depletion because of increased influence of the East Australian Current. This work will, for the first time, provide a clear indication of the relationship between the physical environment on the shelf and the distribution of benthic assemblages, predict future changes in temperature and nutrients in the area, and predict the effects of these changes on the associated benthic biota. These predictions are critical to an informed adaptation response to climate change.