Biological Impacts of the 2013–2015 Warm-Water Anomaly in the Northeast Pacific: Winners, Losers, and the Future

Abstract

beaches along the central and southern coast of California. Bluefin tuna appeared in record numbers in California waters. Such shifts in migration of this scale had not been previously observed for nektonic species (Table The consequences of the WWA were far-reaching, and may presage future ecological shifts as global temperatures rise. FIGURE 1. Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies showing the progression of the warm water anomaly (WWA) from December 2013 through January 2016 in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.