Ocean acidification erodes crucial auditory behaviour in a marine fish

Abstract

Ocean acidification is predicted to affect marine ecosystems in many ways, including modification of fish behaviour. Previous studies have identified effects of CO 2 -enriched conditions on the sensory behaviour of fishes, including the loss of natural responses to odours resulting in ecologically deleterious decisions. Many fishes also rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, predator avoidance and communication. We used an auditory choice chamber to study the influence of CO 2 -enriched conditions on directional responses of juvenile clownfish ( Amphiprion percula ) to daytime reef noise. Rearing and test conditions were based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictions for the twenty-first century: current-day ambient, 600, 700 and 900 µatm p CO 2 . Juveniles from ambient CO 2 -conditions significantly avoided the reef noise, as expected, but this behaviour was absent in juveniles from CO 2 -enriched conditions. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence that ocean acidification affects the auditory response of fishes, with potentially detrimental impacts on early survival.

Life-history, movement, and habitat use of Scylla serrata (Decapoda, Portunidae): current knowledge and future challenges

“…Further, ocean acidification is known to alter the sensory abilities and therefore the behavior of marine organisms. Tropical fish larvae, for which larval sensory abilities are well studied, showed diminished olfactory discrimination abilities under elevated CO 2 concentrations, and therefore loss of crucial cognitive abilities (Munday et al, 2009;Simpson et al, 2011;Ferrari et al, 2012). So far, these issues have received no attention in mud crab research.…”

Resiliency of juvenile walleye pollock to projected levels of ocean acidification

“…The ultimate consequences of increased deposition rates (and larger otolith sizes) for otolith function in hearing and orientation in temperate fishes are still unknown. Reduced (or re versed) responses to auditory cues were ob served in clownfish Amphiprion percula (Simpson et al 2011), a species in which there were no apparent differences in otolith size or symmetry in response to environmental hypercapnia (Munday et al 2011b). Alternatively, the altered behavioral res ponse to auditory cues in clownfish may be related to an alteration of the activity of the GABA-A receptor, as this receptor has also been linked to ocean acidification-induced behavioral responsiveness to olfactory stimuli (Dixson et al 2010, Nilsson et al 2012.…”

The swimming kinematics of larval Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua L., are resilient to elevated seawater pCO2

“…The brown dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus, exposed to elevated pCO 2 exhibited a negative reaction to the smell of injured prey seemingly making them less able to respond to changing food availability (Cripps et al 2011). Hearing ability of juvenile clownfish reared in elevated pCO 2 of 600-900 latm was also damaged with juveniles attracted to reef noise that exposed them to greater predation risks (Simpson et al 2011). Domenici et al (2012) provided evidence of damage to brain function resulting from elevated pCO 2 by showing a reduced level of lateralization or ability to decide between left and right turns in a reef fish, Neopomacentrus azysron.…”