| abstract |
Climate change is altering all ecosystems, displaying negative effects on our world as a
whole. The effects of climate change on light penetration through the ocean may seem trivial, but
it could potentially have drastic effects on all marine life. This thesis explores how changes in
ocean temperature due to climate change may affect underwater light penetration, and therefore
disrupt survival techniques of fish such as coloration and camouflage. Changes in light and color
penetration could have a significant impact on fish and marine species that rely on the ocean's
depth to survive.
Changes in geographical locations of fish over time are more widely studied than changes
in the depths at which they frequent. Along with examining the effects of climate change on light
penetration in the open ocean, this thesis also studies the visibility of fish coloration at various
depths. With the use of a modern analytical framework, as well as data obtained from FishBase,
this study was able to visualize how environmental factors such as water temperature and light
attenuation might alter the effectiveness of color-based camouflage in fish. It is the goal of this
study to provide insight on how climate change could disrupt and alter species' reliance on deep-
sea environments.
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