By: Richard Black
May 31 2011
BBC News
Picture:
This picture shows the container in which they test the clownfish's hearing ability. The loudspeaker is on the left side (makes predator sounds) and when the sound is emitted, if the clownfish are capable of hearing through the acidic water, they will swim away.
Summary:
Clownfish rely greatly on their hearing to survive and if the acidic levels in our oceans continue to increase at their current rate, by the end of the century, clownfish may be in very big trouble when it comes to surviving. The way the water is becoming acidic is because the water is absorbing the heavy amounts of carbon dioxide contained in our atmosphere.The fish use their hearing to do things such as seeking out predators, mate detection, and foraging.
Through an experiment with sound (see above picture), they tested the clownfish's hearing in different acidic levels in water, using multiple tanks. In the tank with our current acidic levels (390 ppm), the fish had stayed on the opposite side of the speaker for three quarters of the time. When the other tanks which contained acidic levels possible near the end of this century (600-900 ppm) were tested, the fish had no preferences as to which side of the tank to go.
Dr. Simpson, a scientist, was looking into this situation and says, "What we have done here is put today's fish in tomorrow's environment, and the effects are potentially devastating." him and his team looked more into the cause of the deafness, and though still unclear, coral and shellfish (snails) are also victims of this issue and Simpson's team is working hard to figure out to prevent the death of the fish before it is too late.
Opinion/Reflection:
This just shows how much us humans have affected the world. I did not even have any idea about this issue until I read the article! We hurt the environment so much everyday, but we never do as much to help. I have fish and I would not like it if the water's acidic level in the tank were to raise and harm them. It is only 11 years into the century, so hopefully changes can be made to help decrease the water's acidic levels as soon as possible. Considering the fact clownfish greatly depend on hearing for basic survival needs, it is sad to know that we are preventing them from doing what they have to do to live.
Question(s):
1) What are some possible ways to help lessen the acidic levels of our oceans or simply lessen the increase rate?
2) Why do you think the acidic levels affect the fish's hearing?
3) What are a couple examples on how other organisms cope with carbon dioxide in the air? (e.g. Humans, plants, animals, etc.)
Interesting article. I wonder what kind of impact this will have on the fish. Do you think that they could adapt over time? Maybe over time they will adapt to the acid in the water.
ReplyDeleteLike you said Mrs. DeLuca, there could always be that chance that adaptation could occur over time. Animals are experts on learning to adapt to their environment and that's why there are so many different fish in so many different places in the world. Taking the fish we have now and putting them into a high level of acid, that won't exactly help anything but doing it over time and gradually putting more and more acid in, that will show it clearly. It all just depends on what will happen in the future.
ReplyDeleteSome possible ways to lessen the acidic levels of our oceans is to use more alternative energy sources and not dump trash in the oceans.Also they could save trees to take in the carbon dioxide and release oxygen. I think the acidic levels affect the fish's hearing because it acts like a wall and the sounds can't travel through to get to the fish. Other organisms cope with this by adapting to the amounts of carbon dioxide and....breathing less. I enjoyed this article because it brought this problem to my attention and i hope we can fix the problem in the near future.
ReplyDeleteYAY!!!!! i finally got it to work!!!!!! so exiting!!!!
ReplyDeleteIf we keep this up, clownfish will become endangered and possibly extinct. There are also many different species of fish that depend on their hearing and vision. Multiple fish species will be in danger. One way to decrease acidic levels in our oceans is to plant more trees. More trees will take in more carbon dioxide that is causing the acidic levels.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was pretty cool to learn that clownfish use their hearing to detect predators. I think the acid is affecting their hearing because it's like a virus. To humans a virus can affect every aspect of our body, especially hearing. How do you think scientist thought to test the fish's hearing? What made them want to test this in the first place?
ReplyDelete