Media Release: Baby fish lose poisonous protectors in acidified oceans
A common close partnership which sees baby fish sheltering from predators among the poisonous tentacles of jellyfish willbe harmed under predicted ocean acidification, a new Ӱֱ of Adelaide study has found.
[caption id="attachment_10515" align="alignnone" width="300"] Credit: James Brook[/caption]
Published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers say that modification of this baby fish-jellyfish symbiotic relationship is likely to lead to higher mortality among the affected fish species which include some ofthe common commercial fish. A well-known example of marine symbiosis is the relationship between anemones andclown-fish, popularised in the animated movie, Finding Nemo.
“These intricate, interdependent relationships between different species─symbioses─are common in both the marine andterrestrial environments,” says study leader Associate Professor , in the Ӱֱ of Adelaide’sEnvironment Institute.
“But, apart from the well-known relationship between coral and microalgae and what happens during a bleaching event,little is known about how climate change and predicted ocean acidification will affect such relationships.
“This is the first study that demonstrates how climate change will disturb such a symbiotic relationship between twoanimals that interact closely for survival.”
The juvenile fish of about 80 different species, including important commercial varieties such as pollock, jacks andtrevallies, form symbiotic relationships with jellyfish.
The jellyfish blooms are an ideal protective habitat for the baby fish, which would otherwise be unprotected in the openoceans where they are at high risk of being eaten by bigger fish and other marine life. Only one species of fish has knownimmunity to the jellyfish venom. Somehow the baby fish avoid the poisonous tentacles of the jellyfish while swimmingamong them, while other species stay well away.
The relationship is not straightforward however – sometimes the jellyfish will eat the baby fish. Despite this, the survivalodds of the baby fish seem to be increased when sheltering with the jellyfish.
The researchers studied the actions of juvenile fish in an aquarium under high CO 2 conditions. Compared to the controlgroup, they spent much less time with the jellyfish host (about three times less), while only 63% (compared to 86%)initiated any relationship at all.
The research is in collaboration with Associate Professor Kylie Pitt at Griffith Ӱֱ. “Shelter is not widely available inopen water so juvenile fish rely on the jellyfish for protection against predators,” says Associate Professor Pitt. “As shelterproviders, the jellyfish could play a role in enhancing the populations of these fish species. Changing ocean conditions arelikely to have significant negative impacts on this relationship and therefore, fish populations.”
This research has been featured in .
Media Contact:Associate Professor Ivan Nagelkerken.
Phone: +61 8 8313 4137,
Mobile: +61 (0)477 320 551,
ivan.nagelkerken@adelaide.edu.au
Robyn Mills, Media Officer.
Phone: +61 8 8313 6341,
Mobile: +61 (0)410 689 084,
robyn.mills@adelaide.edu.au
[caption id="attachment_10515" align="alignnone" width="300"] Credit: James Brook[/caption]
Published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers say that modification of this baby fish-jellyfish symbiotic relationship is likely to lead to higher mortality among the affected fish species which include some ofthe common commercial fish. A well-known example of marine symbiosis is the relationship between anemones andclown-fish, popularised in the animated movie, Finding Nemo.
“These intricate, interdependent relationships between different species─symbioses─are common in both the marine andterrestrial environments,” says study leader Associate Professor , in the Ӱֱ of Adelaide’sEnvironment Institute.
“But, apart from the well-known relationship between coral and microalgae and what happens during a bleaching event,little is known about how climate change and predicted ocean acidification will affect such relationships.
“This is the first study that demonstrates how climate change will disturb such a symbiotic relationship between twoanimals that interact closely for survival.”
The juvenile fish of about 80 different species, including important commercial varieties such as pollock, jacks andtrevallies, form symbiotic relationships with jellyfish.
The jellyfish blooms are an ideal protective habitat for the baby fish, which would otherwise be unprotected in the openoceans where they are at high risk of being eaten by bigger fish and other marine life. Only one species of fish has knownimmunity to the jellyfish venom. Somehow the baby fish avoid the poisonous tentacles of the jellyfish while swimmingamong them, while other species stay well away.
The relationship is not straightforward however – sometimes the jellyfish will eat the baby fish. Despite this, the survivalodds of the baby fish seem to be increased when sheltering with the jellyfish.
The researchers studied the actions of juvenile fish in an aquarium under high CO 2 conditions. Compared to the controlgroup, they spent much less time with the jellyfish host (about three times less), while only 63% (compared to 86%)initiated any relationship at all.
The research is in collaboration with Associate Professor Kylie Pitt at Griffith Ӱֱ. “Shelter is not widely available inopen water so juvenile fish rely on the jellyfish for protection against predators,” says Associate Professor Pitt. “As shelterproviders, the jellyfish could play a role in enhancing the populations of these fish species. Changing ocean conditions arelikely to have significant negative impacts on this relationship and therefore, fish populations.”
This research has been featured in .
Media Contact:Associate Professor Ivan Nagelkerken.
Phone: +61 8 8313 4137,
Mobile: +61 (0)477 320 551,
ivan.nagelkerken@adelaide.edu.au
Robyn Mills, Media Officer.
Phone: +61 8 8313 6341,
Mobile: +61 (0)410 689 084,
robyn.mills@adelaide.edu.au
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