Climate change is one of the primary threats to marine and shore ecosystems. Understanding how the structure and functionality of ecosystems are affected by the heating of ocean and sea waters is important when it comes to developing robust management and conservation strategies.
The MCS has been monitoring the seawater temperature every five meters up to a depth of 40 meters in the Marine Protected Area at Gökova Bay since 2015, and in Fethiye - Göcek and Kaş - Kekova since 2020. These monitoring activities confirm that the seawater temperature is increasing at greater depths each year.
The monitoring of seawater temperatures allow forecasts to be made and conservation plans to be created to combat the pressure exerted by invasive species and the effects of climate change on biodiversity, particularly on seagrass.