Fish From Acidic Ocean Waters Less Able To Smell Predators

Sunday, April 13, 2014 - 17:50 in Biology & Nature

"They can smell but they can't distinguish between chemical cues," Dixson said. Carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is absorbed into ocean waters, where it dissolves and lowers the pH of the water. Acidic waters affect fish behavior by disrupting a specific receptor in the nervous system, called GABAA, which is present in most marine organisms with a nervous system. When GABAA stops working, neurons stop firing properly. Coral reef habitat studies have found that CO2-induced behavioral changes, similar to those observed in the new study, increase mortality from predation by more than fivefold in newly settled fish. read more

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