A loss of shelter is threatening the survival of the world’s clownfish. An international study has found that the effects of climate change, including rising water temperatures and bleaching, are damaging sea anemones, which shield clownfish from predators.
Bleaching, a result of warmer waters, causes the loss of the anemone’s symbiotic algae, which supply part of its nourishment.
Clownfish, star of the film Finding Nemo, are among 28 varieties of anemonefish that are dependent on sea anemones to live.
The research involved surveys of nearly 14,000 anemones worldwide and found 4 per cent had been bleached.
Read more at James Cook University