Prof. Dina Leech Co-Authors Study on Impact of Ocean Warming

August 31, 2009

August 31, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — "Warmer ocean temperatures could mean dramatic shifts in the structure of underwater food webs and the abundance of marine life, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill," begins an article detailing work done at UNC's Institute of Marine Sciences. The study's authors include Dina M. Leech, assistant professor of biology at DePauw University.

According to the text, "Until now, little has been known about how changes in temperatures might affect the total productivity and growth of all marine consumers (such as animals, fungi and bacteria) relative to their prey (including algae and plants). The study ... looked at a simple underwater food chain and how temperature changes affect organisms' growth and metabolism. In warmer temperatures, these processes happen faster. As a result, demands for food and nutrients increase with temperature."

The study appears in the journal PLoS Biology.

Read more by clicking here or at the Web site of Scientific American.

Dr. Leech joined DePauw's faculty this fall after serving as a postdoctoral research associate at UNC. Her specialties are aquatic ecology and environmental science.

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