Fish behavior and health under climate change

The study investigated how juvenile orange-fin anemonefish (Amphiprion chrysopterus) are affected by the bleaching of their host anemones. Like corals, anemones can bleach under stressful conditions such as warm water, and the researchers wanted to understand how this may impact the survival and growth of the anemonefish. Over a period of 9 months, the researchers measured the metabolic rate, growth, behavior, and survival of the anemonefish living on bleached or unbleached anemones. They found that fish on bleached anemones grew less, spent more time in their anemones, and were less active compared to fish on unbleached anemones. These results suggest that anemonefish living on bleached anemones may have an energetic disadvantage, which could impact their long-term survival.

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Cortese et al. 2021