Effects of El niño on the coastal ecosystems and their related services.

Abstract

Since the 1980s, the effects of the El Niño phenomenon have been taken note of seriously from an ecosystem and economic point of view. After the fishing debacle in the 1980s, in countries, such as Peru and Chile, and the phenomena of coral bleaching detected worldwide due to the intense changes in the oceanographic conditions, the effects of this phenomenon have been studied more systematically (since El Niño 1997–98). Without having the absolute certainty of whether climate change is increasing the frequency or intensity of its impacts, what is clear is that there are very serious repercussions associated with El Niño both on the composition and on dynamics of the coastal and marine ecosystems, and also the associated economic impacts are very evident. In light of the 2015–16 El Niño, some ecosystem and economic consequences of this phenomenon have been described in contrast systems (fisheries and ocean upwelling, coral reefs and mangroves), emphasizing the possible role of climate change and its consequences on marine biodiversity.