What is it about?
Tropical Atlantic species may re-enter the Mediterranean Sea, as happened 135 to 116 years ago, during the so-called "Last Interglacial", the latest warm period before the present. Global warming will render the waters the north-west African coast warmer, allowing such species now confined to the tropical belt to extend their distribution north. Such a prediction may be realized already by 2050 under an intermediate greenhouse gas emission scenario.
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Why is it important?
The Mediterranean Sea is already invaded by hundreds of species of Indo-Pacific origin entered via the Suez Canal. A new wave of species coming from the tropical Atlantic would contribute to irreversibly change the biodiversity of the basin in a way unprecedented in human history.
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This page is a summary of: The dawn of the tropical Atlantic invasion into the Mediterranean Sea, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, April 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320687121.
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