Take an amusing quiz to learn about unexpected effects of
Climate Change. After each multiple choice question, you see if
you were right (and the right answer if you weren't). Add the
possibility of incestuous suicidal clownfish to the list of odd
results of Climate Change. Now this is where we are getting into
hypothesis territory, because we know that other pollutants can
influence a sea animal’s behavior and sensory ..., but CO2 is
only starting to be investigated in this role (4). Clownfish in
particular appear to be sensitive to elevated levels of carbon
dioxide when they are “settlement-stage larvae”–little fish
floating around looking for a good sea anemone to call home. In
a normal environment, these larvae select a home based on odors
in the water, much like I did when I first moved to the city.
Big fail on my part. Normally, settlement-stage clownfish larvae
avoid places where their parents live, and seek out places where
there are few predators. Makes sense right? This strategy helps
avoid incest a