Chin and Kyne, 2007:

"Sharks and rays occupy ecological niches at the upper levels of marine food webs, and are thus closely linked to many other parts of the marine ecosystem. Changes occurring in habitats, or biological processes operating at lower levels of the food web, can cause a chain of events that ultimately affect sharks and rays.

This assessment has highlighted a number of factors that drive the vulnerability of GBR sharks and rays to climate change:

• The potential synergistic impacts of fisheries on sharks and rays in the GBR
• Degradation and loss of coastal habitats such as estuaries, seagrasses and mangroves through climate change impacts and human pressures
• Disruption of ecological processes that drive biological productivity and prey availability by rainfall and oceanographic changes

Additionally, threatened species and particular species groups may be especially vulnerable to climate change given existing pressures, reduced populations and/or biological attributes."

Figure 13.2: Six functional groups of sharks and rays and the main climate change drivers that may affect the habitats and biological processes upon which they depend