As Seas Warm, Essential Micro Plants Could Decline
 "[Phytoplankton] are a big part of the planet's life-support
system. If phytoplankton decline, that threatens the food base
of a vast part of the biosphere," says Dalhousie University
marine biologist Boris Worm, who’s researching decades of data.
"There's less fuel in the tank of the machinery of life, and you
just don't get as far."  The abundance of phytoplankton appears
to be on the decline since the 1940's, according to satellite
readings of phytoplankton conducted by Dr. Worm and Oregon State
University Professor Michael Behrenfeld. The authors point to
ocean warming that is increasing stratification of waters and
reducing access to nutrients from the deeper waters for the
creatures that depend on these nutrients for survival.  Learn
more about Heal the Bay’s climate change initiatives.