ONTARIO, CANADA - Experts are noticing an obvious change concerning marine life in different lakes in Ontario. New studies from the University of Guelph are looking into the ripple effect of warmer temperatures to food webs.Over the past decades, the temperature has been warmer than average. This has forced fish to delve in much deeper waters where a different plant or prey species is available. This has caused a climate-induced "rewiring" of different food webs. As a result, the flow of nutrients and energy in the lakes have also been altered.

Timothy Bartley from the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, is the lead author for a paper that proposes to harness the natural capacity of species to detect and respond to changes in their environment. 

Bartley further explained that an alteration in an environment can be derived from the changes in their behavior. Behavioral changes among living organisms can imply a reorganization in the ecosystem. For example, information taken from a lake trout showing changes in behavior can be an early warning system that the impact of climate change on different ecosystems are surfacing at an alarming rate.

In their paper in Natural Ecology and Evolution, a published journal, the team detailed their experimentation process which entails tracking the movement of lake trout. Bartley analyzed the tissue of the fish to get a list of what the marine creatures have ingested. This analysis has proven that the lake trout has been spending more time in deeper water than near the shore. Even if trout commonly feed on herring, Bartley pointed out that the fish are very flexible feeders and will be able to eat invertebrates or other fish species. That being said, the researchers have not yet determined the specific species the lake trout are currently feeding on.
Bartley concluded that the higher temperature might have pushed the herring to cooler waters as well, the same as the lake trout. 

Bartley stated that climate change can have varied and complicated effects on different ecosystems.

Generally, some organisms are moving because of climate change. Bartley also pointed out that this change in behavior is not only happening in lakes but also in grasslands where grasshoppers and predatory spiders have started mobbing towards the soil where areas have a lower temperature.

The researchers also have other studies that revolve on behavioral changes due to climate change. Their topics include beluga whales and the halibut in Nunavut, Kodiak bears that feed on elderberries and sockeye salmon, and ringed seals and polar bears in the Arctic.

Because of these behavioral changes, the movements of marine species also change the fishing activities of fishers and hobbyists. They need to observe climate changes and use the proper fishing techniques and tools, such as a monofilament fishing line for trout from Fishing Outcast. 

The fishing or marine industry keeps an eye on climate change and provides updates through news reports, whitepapers, and other formats and channels. In that way, the public can prepare and take action to help reduce human contributions to climate change. 

Although further studies are still necessary to make conclusive theories, it's no doubt that temperature changes can affect marine life. Specie-specific observations can help educate fishers, tourists, and all sectors that benefit from fishing activities and marine life. In addition, such information can help the private sector and government agencies find more effective ways to promote marine life protection. 

Moreover, there are debates and discussions about the massive effects of climate change on other wildlife creatures. Because of the complex ecosystem, climate change can also affect trees and plants. More importantly, such changes directly affect the health and safety of human beings due to flooding, forest fires, etc. Therefore, everyone is called upon to fulfill their social responsibility to help protect the environment.