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Warmer water increases phytoplankton blooms. The phytoplankton blooms reduce the ocean oxygen levels and increase bacteria. The depleted ocean oxygen levels are literally drowning the Starfish and the increased bacteria is causing disease. The phenomenon has been called Sea Star Wasting disease. No Starfish predators to eat the Sea Urchins has allowed the Urchins to eat the kelp unchecked. On top of this Sea Urchins are one of the few organisms that thrive off the Sludge we dump into the ocean -- further increasing their numbers. It's a snowball effect that just moves up the food chain.
We have the same thing happening to the cold water kelp forests that stretch from the East Coast to Europe, as well as increased die-off of coral reefs in warmer climates from other pollution imbalance issues.
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