‘Nemo’ may have developed an unexpected survival tactic
“Of this newly-discovered ability for the clownfish to shrink, she said: “This is not just about getting skinnier under stressful conditions, these fish are actually getting shorter. We don’t know yet exactly how they do it, but we do know that a few other animals can do this too," Melissa Versteeg, a PhD researcher at England’s Newcastle University, said in a statement.
Coral health in Florida Keys threatened by marine heat wave
Jennifer L. Koss, director of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, explains how the recent marine heat wave in portions of the Florida Keys has affected the coral and whether the coral has been able to rebound. Feb. 21, 2024.
NEWCASTLE, England – The brightly colored fish made famous by the movie "Finding Nemo" have developed an unexpected survival tactic that researchers say may help them combat rising ocean temperatures.
According to a study published in the journal Science Advances, university researchers discovered that clownfish reduce their body size in response to marine heat waves - a behavior that significantly improves their chances of survival.
Over a five-month period, scientists recorded the length of 134 clownfish during a marine heat wave in Oceania.
Researchers said nearly three-quarters of the fish shrank in size, suggesting the presence of a widespread adaptive response.
"It was a surprise to see how rapidly clownfish can adapt to a changing environment and we witnessed how flexibly they regulated their size, as individuals and as breeding pairs, in response to heat stress as a successful technique to help them survive," Melissa Versteeg, a Ph.D. researcher at England’s Newcastle University and lead author of the study, said in a statement.
CORAL BABIES HEAD TO FLORIDA KEYS TO HELP RESTORE DYING REEFS
Hamburg: Anemonefish, also known as clownfish, swim between bubble anemones in the tropical aquarium at Hagenbecks Tierpark (photo taken through a round pane of glass). Counting, weighing and measuring at the beginning of the year. Photo: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa (Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
(Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt/picture alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
According to the study, shrinking increased a clownfish’s chances of surviving extreme heat by as much as 78%.
Clownfish are not the only marine creature known to exhibit the behavior.
Researchers noted that other species, including marine iguanas, shrink under environmental stress by reabsorbing some of their bone material.
"This is not just about getting skinnier under stressful conditions," Versteeg said. "These fish are actually getting shorter."
Scientists believe this decrease in body size may result in a lower metabolism, reducing the organism’s need for food.
WIFE KILLED IN ALLIGATOR ATTACK IN CENTRAL FLORIDA WHILE CANOEING WITH HER HUSBAND
Dr. Theresa Rueger, a lecturer in tropical marine sciences at Newcastle University and senior author of the study, said the findings may help explain the broader global trend of shrinking fish sizes.
"Our findings show that individual fish can shrink in response to heat stress, which is further impacted by social conflict, and that shrinking can lead to improving their chances of survival. If individual shrinking were widespread and happening among different species of fish, it could provide a plausible alternative hypothesis for why the size many fish species is declining and further studies are needed in this area," Rueger stated.
The study did not indicate whether corals, a vital component of many marine ecosystems, possess similar shrinking abilities to adapt to warming oceans.
Hope on the way to the Florida Keys reef
Around 1,050 coral babies spawned and raised at The Florida Aquarium are on their way to the Florida Keys, where they'll be planted on the reef or nurtured in nurseries.