. Earth Science News .
WATER WORLD
Double-checking the science
by Staff Writers
Montreal, Canada (SPX) Jan 13, 2020

Damselfishes on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, including species used by the researchers in their study.

Sometimes it helps to check the facts. You may be surprised what you find.

Over the last decade, several high-profile scientific studies have reported that tropical fish living in coral reefs are adversely affected by ocean acidification caused by climate change - that is, they behave oddly and are attracted to predators as levels of carbon dioxide dissolved from air pollution increase.

But now new research suggests that isn't the case.

In fact, in the most exhaustive study yet of the impacts of ocean acidification on the behaviour of coral reef fish, headed up in Australia and co-authored by two Universite de Montreal researchers, it turns out fish behaviour is not affected at all.

"The past decade has seen many high-profile studies that have found alarming effects of ocean acidification on coral reef fish behaviour," with some reporting that "fish become attracted to the smell of predators in acidified waters," said lead author Timothy Clark, an associate professor at Deakin University's School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Geelong, a seaside city near Melbourne, Australia.

But when they tried to re-do those earlier studies with many of the same species, and by crunching the data in a new analysis, Clark and his team of Canadian and Scandinavian scientists - including UdeM biologists Sandra Binning and Dominique Roche - arrived at very different results.

It turns out the original results couldn't be replicated.

"We expected previous results would be easy to repeat because of how clear and strong they appeared in the initial papers. Instead, we found consistently normal behaviours in fish that we acclimated to (predicted) end-of-(21st)-century levels of CO2," said Clark.

But "by using rigorous methods, measuring multiple behaviours in multiple species, and making our data and analysis code openly available, we have comprehensively and transparently shown that ... ocean acidification has negligible direct impacts on the behaviour of fish on coral reefs," said Clark.

"Specifically, elevated CO2 does not meaningfully alter activity levels or behavioural lateralisation (left-right turning preference), nor does it alter the response of fish to the chemical cues released by predators."

The new study is bound to make a big impact in the marine biology world, the scientists believe. Not only does it contradict earlier studies, it shows that science doesn't always produce results to buttress things everyone agrees on, like climate change.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

"Some people may be surprised by these findings, but that's how science operates: it's a normal and healthy process to question published results. Sometimes they hold up, and sometimes they don't. Ultimately, it's the accumulation of evidence that matters and brings us closer to the truth," said Binning, an assistant professor at UdeM.

"It's not because some researchers have found one thing that we should take it at face value. As scientists, we should always be critical of what we read and what we see. That's how science advances."

"We're not saying that climate change is not a problem - far from it," added Roche, her husband, a research associate at UdeM. "Our point is that replication studies are very important, just as are ocean acidification and global warming generally."

Clark agreed.

"The negative effects of CO2 emissions are well established, with global warming already having devastating effects on coral reef ecosystems around the world. Among other things, more frequent storms and coral bleaching during heatwaves is causing severe habitat loss for fish," he said.

"So, despite our new results, coral reefs and their fish communities remain in grave danger because of increasing atmospheric CO2."

Now, instead of concentrating on how fish behaviour is affected by ocean acidification, scientists would do better to focus their attention "on others aspects of climate change that are more in need of research," such as infectious disease risk, habitat destruction, and decreased oxygen levels in water, said Binning, holder of a Canada Research Chair on Eco-Evolution and Host-Parasite Interactions.

"With so little time left to combat climate change, it's vitally important that research dollars are used in the best way possible to better help us understand and target systems and organisms at the greatest risk," added Roche.

Research Report: "Ocean acidification does not impair the behaviour of coral reef fishes"


Related Links
University of Montreal
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


WATER WORLD
Ocean acidification a big problem - but not for coral reef fish behavior
Oslo, Norway (SPX) Jan 13, 2020
A three-year, comprehensive study of the effects of ocean acidification challenges previous reports that a more acidic ocean will negatively affect coral reef fish behaviour. The study, conducted by an international coalition led by scientists from Australia and Norway, showed that coral reef fish exposed to CO2 at levels expected by the end of the century did not change their activity levels or ability to avoid predators. "Contrary to previous studies, we have demonstrated that end-of-centu ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WATER WORLD
Myanmar's Suu Kyi visits China border state as Xi visit looms

Navy brings emergency beer to fire-hit Aussie town

Study shows animal life thriving around Fukushima

Ten years after deadly Haiti quake, survivors feel forgotten

WATER WORLD
Ultrasound can make stronger 3D-printed alloys

NUS scientists create world's first monolayer amorphous film

Penn shows giving entire course of radiation treatment in less than a second is feasible

Randomness opens the gates to the land of attophotography

WATER WORLD
Using a robot to deploy robots in remote oceans

Double-checking the science

ENSO heat engine shifts eastward under global warming

Ocean acidification a big problem - but not for coral reef fish behavior

WATER WORLD
Hell and ice water: Glacier melt threatens Pakistan's future

Without sea ice, Arctic permafrost more likely to thaw

Temperatures rise across Europe's far north

Greenland meltwater could alter major ocean current

WATER WORLD
German competition watchdog swats pesticide firms

Research team traces evolution of the domesticated tomato

LED lighting in greenhouses helps but standards are needed

Fire-hit Australian farmers vow to rise from the ashes

WATER WORLD
Philippines on alert as volcano spews ash, lava

Ash pours from Philippine volcano, halting flights

Tens of thousands face uncertainty as Philippine volcano spews lava

'Everything is lost': Life on the edge of the Brahmaputra

WATER WORLD
US wants to reduce presence in Africa, warns top officer

Macron, Sahel leaders to review anti-jihad campaign

Chinese FM wraps up five-nation African tour

Niger sacks military chiefs after deadly jihadist attack

WATER WORLD
Early humans revealed to have engineered optimized stone tools at Olduvai Gorge

The growing pains of orphan chimpanzees

Early modern humans cooked starchy food in South Africa, 170,000 years ago

Humans were making tools out of stone more than 1 million years ago









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.