The theory that water-breathing animals such as fish will shrink due to global warming has been called into question by a study published today in eLife.
The theory that water-breathing animals such as fish will shrink due to global warming has been called into question by a study published today in eLife.
The study found that warm water pollution increased growth rates but also death rates, resulting in a population of younger, but larger fish. The finding is at odds in part with general predictions of the effect of warming on natural ecosystems and highlights that these need to be tested in large-scale experiments.
As aquatic ecosystems become warmer, it is predicted that animals such as fish will grow faster at a young age but reach smaller body sizes as adults. This pattern has mainly been observed in small-scale experiments, and although some studies have tested this prediction in natural environments, these have mostly been carried out on fish species subjected to fishing, where the process of fishing itself can influence growth rates and body size.
Read more at: eLife
Image showing the Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis) (Photo Credit: Karel Jakubec)
