Fish behaving weirdly: climate change makes reef fish do odd things

Scientists are concerned that the impact of climate change on reef fishes is greater than first thought.

Behavioural changes found in small fishes such as damselfish has highlighted concern that valuable fishery species such as coral trout could be under long-term threat.

James Cook University’s Professor Philip Munday recently discovered that ocean acidification, specifically declines in pH caused by the addition of carbon dioxide (CO2), led to significant behavioural changes in damselfish and anemone fish. This left them open to predation.