Filed under: Light relief (for a moment til we get back to The solar model)
Not only will your air conditioner make little fish more reckless, but other fish might seriously not be able to find their friends for coffee. I did not make up that headline. Your taxes did.
Note the carefully phrased results:
“Whilst fish kept under normal conditions consistently chose the familiar school, fish reared under high CO2 conditions showed no preference for either the unfamiliar or familiar school.”
If increasing CO2 was a politically-correct achievement, would that same result carry a headline telling us that “Climate Change makes Fish More Confident with Strangers”?
[Press Release] Climate change could stop fish finding their friends
Like humans, fish prefer to group with individuals with whom they are familiar, rather than strangers. This gives numerous benefits including higher growth and survival rates, greater defence against predators and faster social learning. However, high carbon dioxide levels, such as those anticipated by climate change models, may hinder the ability of fish to recognize one another and form groups with familiar individuals.
Scientists at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, Australia, have been studying the effect of carbon dioxide on the schooling behaviour of the tropical damselfish Chromis viridis. Lead investigator Miss Lauren Nadler found that juvenile fish normally require three weeks to recognize their school-mates, however elevated carbon dioxide levels significantly impaired this ability.
Pay attention — here is the test:
Climate change models predict that carbon dioxide levels and ocean acidity will more than double before the end of the century. To investigate if this would affect social recognition in fish, schools were kept under elevated levels of carbon dioxide, similar to those projected for 2100 by models produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Individual fish were then given a “choice test” where they were placed between two schools — one of familiar fish and the other made up of strangers. Whilst fish kept under normal conditions consistently chose the familiar school, fish reared under high CO2 conditions showed no preference for either the unfamiliar or familiar school.
Are the high CO2 fish happy about it? (Did anyone ask them?)
It is thought (but not known yet)…
It is thought that carbon dioxide interferes with the functioning of neuroreceptors in the fish brains. Higher carbon dioxide levels change the concentration of ions (electrically charged atoms and molecules) in the fishes’ blood, altering the way that the neuroreceptors work. This impairs basic senses, such as sight and smell, which are vital for recognition in fish.
Or could it be that fish are more relaxed and less anxious in a higher CO2 world? Perhaps low CO2 stresses them out and they need to cling for company? I have no idea. I’m just sayin’
These results could have serious implications for tropical fish, whose habitat is already threatened by climate change. “Familiarity is an important trait for defence, particularly in a predator-rich environment like a coral reef,” says Miss Nadler. “Since half of all fish species in the world school at some point during their lives, including economically important species, these effects could be critical for species that rely on group-living to avoid predators.”
Society for Experimental Biology
Look, far be it for me to mock the study of fish social events. They need their friends. It’s just hard to take this seriously in a world where so much is unknown about carbon accounting, (or fish psychology). This was also a press release that did not mention a paper, or a conference. I’m sure the data is out there.
UPDATE: Sane and sensible science on CO2, fish, coral and marine life can, of course, be found at CO2Science. (h/t John in comments, I meant to add a link to CO2, Global Warming and Coral Reefs: Prospects for the Future, a 2009 report I found very useful.)