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How is climate change affecting fishes? There are clues inside their ears
Climate change affects all life on Earth, but it poses unique challenges for aquatic species.
- Karin Limburg
- The Conversation
For example, as water warms it holds less dissolved oxygen than cooler water.
As a result, the world’s oceans, coastal seas, estuaries, rivers and lakes are undergoing a process known as “deoxygenation.”
When dissolved oxygen levels fall to about 2 milligrams per liter – compared to a normal range of roughly 5 to 10 mg/L – many aquatic organisms become severely stressed.
Scientists call this low oxygen threshold “hypoxia.”
Globally fisheries generate…