Fish living in corals are also at risk of losing their colors

Researchers have been warning for many years about coral bleaching, due to global warming and rising temperatures in the oceans.

But this phenomenon could also affect fish and not just coral.

In a study published on March 16 in the journal

, Australian researchers have highlighted a certain bleaching in the biodiversity living on the Great Barrier Reef, reports 

.

“The reefs of the future may not be the colorful ecosystems we see today,” the study sums up.

Fish on Australia's Great Barrier Reef are losing their color as corals diehttps://t.co/s71v0WzHtG

'Future reefs may not be the colorful ecosystems we recognize today'@thehemi65 pic.twitter.com/fVWKI3cl5g

— Svein Tveitdal (@tveitdal) March 24, 2022

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Bright colors as camouflage

With climate change and ocean pollution, episodes of coral reef bleaching are increasing.

However, the rise in temperature has an impact on the acidity of the water and creates stress for biodiversity, causing the tarnishing of corals.

However, if the endemic fish of this area are so colorful, it is by mimicry with the corals.

Their colors are trappings, a means of communication but also a camouflage technique allowing them to go unnoticed by predators in a very colorful environment.

Less colorful fish than before

“Unfortunately, the types of coral best able to survive the immediate impacts of climate change are not likely to provide these colorful refuges,” the study authors explain.

According to them, if complex, branching and colorful corals become scarce, fish should also become duller to better adapt to their living environment.

The study covered 27 years in order to observe this phenomenon over the long term.

Result: if the fish that are tarnishing seem to regain a little color over time, the number of very colorful fish present in the Great Barrier Reef has dropped significantly since the very first episode of bleaching recorded, in 1998.

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