
Ocean acidification is known to have physiology impacts and large ecological consequences on marine species. However, the mechanisms by which these impacts occur are somewhat unknown. Chivers et al. (2013) studied the effect of end of century CO2 concentrations on the ability of larval damselfish to learn to identify predators. The damselfish were exposed to a predator odor coupled with an alarm cue designed to stimulate learning within the fish to learn to avoid that predator. The fish were then exposed the odor a few days later to see if they had successfully learned to identify the predator. Fish were then put in the wild and the survival rate was monitored. The authors found that there was impaired neurotransmitter function within the elevated-CO2 fish. This impaired learning was reversed with gabazine, an antagonist of the GABA-A receptor—a neurotransmitter that manages risk assessment in vertebrates. Overall, elevated CO2 lead to an impairment in learning within the lab setting and also lowered fish survival rates in the wild. With lower survival as a result of impaired learning, there could be negative implications for reef population recruitment as well as changes in species dynamics with near future CO2 concentrations.–Submitted by Jennifer Fields
Chivers, D.P., McCormick, M.I., Nilsson, G.E., Munday, P.L., Watson, S.A., Meekan, M.G., Mitchell, M.D., Corkill, K.C., Ferrari, M.C.O. 2013. Impaired Learning of Predators and Lower Prey Survival Under Elevated CO2: a Consequence of Neurotransmitter Interference. Global Climate Change published ahead of print May 30, 2013,doi:10.1111/gcb.12291
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