{"id":28591,"date":"2023-01-04T09:55:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T09:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=28591"},"modified":"2023-01-04T09:55:24","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T09:55:24","slug":"coral-bleaching-could-have-serious-implications-fish-species-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/coral-bleaching-could-have-serious-implications-fish-species-survival\/28591\/","title":{"rendered":"Coral bleaching could have serious implications for fish species survival"},"content":{"rendered":"
Researchers have revealed that mass coral bleaching events are making it harder for some species of reef fish to identify competitors. A group of scientists studying reefs across five Indo-Pacific regions have discovered that the ability of butterflyfish individuals to identify competitor species and respond appropriately was affected due to the widespread loss of coral caused by bleaching. This causes them to make poorer decisions, causing unnecessary fights that use precious limited energy.<\/p>\n
The study, \u2018Rapid resource depletion on coral reefs disrupts competitor recognition processes among butterfly species<\/a>,\u2019 is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences. <\/em><\/p>\n The team believe that this difficulty in identifying competitors could have implications for species survival as further global warming<\/a> increases the likelihood of coral loss.<\/p>\n Dr Sally Keith, Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology at Lancaster University and lead author of the study, said: \u201cBy recognising a competitor, individual fish can make decisions about whether to escalate, or retreat from, a contest \u2013 conserving valuable energy and avoiding injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cThese rules of engagement evolved for a particular playing field, but that field is changing. Repeated disturbances, such as bleaching events, alter the abundance and identity of corals – the food source of butterflyfish. It\u2019s not yet clear whether these fish have the capacity to update their rule book fast enough to recalibrate their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\nCoral bleaching affecting species survival<\/h3>\n