Climate change on track to reduce ocean wildlife by 17%

Climate change is set to empty the ocean of nearly a fifth of all living creatures, measured by mass, by the end of the century, researchers have calculated. In a world that heats up three to four degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, 17 percent of marine biomass -- from minuscule plankton to 100-tonne whales -- will be wiped out, they reported in the US Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. To date, Earth's surface has warmed a full degree (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).