| Summary: | Climate change is unambiguous and its effects are clearly detected in all functional units of the Earth System. This paper presents analyses of sea surface temperature and show that climate change is affecting both biological and ecological systems of the world and most specifically the North Atlantic and its adjacent seas. Changes are seen from phytoplankton to zooplankton to fish and are modifying the dominance of species and the structure, the diversity and the functioning of marine ecosystems. Changes also range from biogeographical to phenological shifts and have involved in some regions of the Atlantic abrupt ecosystem shifts also called regime shifts. These alterations reflect the response of ecosystems to a warmer temperature regime. Mechanisms are complex because they are nonlinear exhibiting tipping points and varying in space and time. Sensitivity of organisms to temperature changes is high, implicating that a small modification in the temperature regime can have sustained ecosystem effects. It is urgent to develop monitoring systems, indicators and both statistical and mathematical tools to detect, better understand and anticipate the alterations of both biological and ecological systems that may be triggered by global climate change. Le changement climatique a une influence grandissante sur l’ensemble des composantes du système terre. Cette contribution présente l’évolution des températures globales et montre que le changement climatique affecte les systèmes biologiques et écologiques de la planète, en particulier ceux de l’Océan Atlantique Nord et de ses mers adjacentes. Les changements biologiques attribués au changement climatique affectent le phytoplancton, le zooplancton, les poissons et modifient la dominance de nombreuses espèces ainsi que la structure, le fonctionnement et la diversité des écosystèmes. Les changements sont aussi perçus sur la biogéographie et la phénologie des espèces et ont impliqué, dans certaines régions, des changements écosystémiques abrupts appelés aussi changements ...
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