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Climate change a mouthful for cardinalfish

The cardinalfish has survived for 50 million years, but its most successful survival strategy could be undone by rapid global warming.

Cardinalfish breed several times a year, with the female releasing batches of eggs which the male then gathers into his mouth in a process known as mouthbrooding. While other fish species have evolved and broadened their diet, mouthbrooding fishes continue to eat mainly plankton, problematic when food is scarce. Mouthbrooding also makes the cardinalfish more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, due to the increased need to take in oxygen in warmer ocean temperatures.

Read more at John Curtin University

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