Unnecessary fights of tropical fish because of coral bleaching
The butterflyfish lives in the coral reef areas on which it feeds.
ASSOCIATED PRESS - Liz Hafalia
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The massive bleaching of coral reefs, caused by climate change, was known to cause the death of many fish.
Fewer corals obviously means less food for these species.
But what we didn't know is that it also disrupts their behavior.
Advertising
Read more
A scientific study published this week by Britain's Royal Society reveals that butterflyfish whose diet suffers from coral bleaching get into unnecessary fights with their peers, wasting precious energy and ultimately threatening their survival.
For millennia, the colorfully striped butterflyfish have learned to recognize competing fish even before they approach their food.
To dissuade a competitor from eating a piece of coral, it lowers its head and raises its caudal fin bristling with prickles.
And if the intruder persists, he chases him by swimming... sometimes over tens of meters.
But now, with global warming, the corals are dying, the food is less... and everything is turned upside down.
“
After the coral bleaching, all these fish had to change their eating habits.
But since they still make their decision to fight based on eating habits of the past, they find themselves chasing individuals who, in fact, no longer eat the same as they do.
It's a bit like using outdated information to decide whether to fight or not
,” says Sally Keith, a marine biologist at Lancaster University.
Result: the fish lose mad energy pursuing competitors who are no longer there.
To the point of risking starvation.
And researchers fear that their disappearance will have repercussions on the entire food chain.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Environment