Creatures that dwell on the deep ocean floor are suffering from a long-lasting and worsening food shortage, which may be due to increases in the temperature of the ocean’s surface, according to a study of the California coast conducted by researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Last year, a separate Scripps study found a 2-degree Fahrenheit increase in the ocean surface temperature along the west coast of North America, which has led to a decrease in plankton, fish, and sea birds and a disruption of the ocean food chain.
