During the serious heat wave of 2023, scientists captured Kaligani to jump off the coast of Papua New Guinea and measure their bodies. Between February and August, they calculated 134 lengths of these iconic, orange and white fish once a month, taking a total of six measurements for each fish. These measurements revealed something peculiar. Most of the fish have shrunk.
Last week, researchers reported to them Survey results in Advances in scienceconcluded that it was shortened by a scale of several millimeters or a small amount of its length by a single order of magnitude, depending on the heat wave.
“We were so surprised to see these fish shrink, so certainly we repeatedly measured each individual in each fish over five months.” I said Melissa Verstigue, a doctoral researcher at Newcastle University, led the research in collaboration with environmental organizations Mahonia Na Dali and Walindi Resort. “In the end we discovered [that downsizing] It was very common in this population. ”
Versteeg and her colleagues don’t know how the fish are shrinking. There is an unthinkable idea that fish may be reabsorbing bone material or some of the tissue. But getting smaller doesn’t matter. In fact, this study could be an adaptation to help Clownfish survive hotter ocean temperatures.
Last year, planets existed 2.65 degrees f (1.47 degrees c) Warmer than the late 1800s. This level of warming affects wildlife in many strange, almost bad ways, as it is fueled by koala kills Wildfires Bleach the coral and then starve it.
However, the rise in temperature also appears to have reduced many species. Particularly impressive research Published In 2019, it was found that birds had shrinked by an average of around 2.6% between 1978 and 2016. More recent analysis shows that elevated temperatures are associated with decreased body size. Small mammals In North America Marine fish. Most of these existing studies report that on average, animals simply don’t grow large.
However, new research on Clownfish suggests that individual fish are merely shrinking week For events in Papua New Guinea, the average is about 7 degrees (4 degrees C) depending on the heat wave that pushes the temperature of the bay to about 7 degrees (C).
In hot climates, being small has its advantages. Warm-blooded animals, such as mammals, will flow more easily when they become smaller and this will cool down. The benefits of cold-blooded creatures such as Clownfish are less clear, but researchers believe it is easy to meet the body’s energy requirements when they are small.
Regardless of the reason, small things seem to help Clownfish when it’s hot. Reduced fish are much more likely to survive.
“It was amazing to see how quickly Clownfish can adapt to changing environments,” Versteeg says. “We witnessed how flexible they adjusted their size as individuals and as breeding pairs in response to heat stress as a successful technique for survival.”
This study adds a layer of complexity to the otherwise melancholy narrative of the oceans of the world. The heat waves associated with climate change are totally devastating coral reefs, as occurred during this study, and in severe cases they almost wipe out entire reef sections. These colorful ecosystems are home to countless marine animals, including what we eat, snappers and clownfish.
Among its losses, animals have proven to be extremely resilient. They are trying hard. However, if global warming continues, even the best adaptation may not be sufficient.
– Benge Jones,vox
Even Yale E360
How natural solutions can help islands rise in sea levels
