Scientists probing the effects of climate change have now discovered that for every one degree change, sizes could fluctuate by up to 40%.This new finding puts a line through previous studies that claimed all fish would get smaller.
Nicholas Payne, assistant professor in zoology in Trinity College Dublin, co-authored this ground-breaking report. A team of scientists used 10 million visual survey records of 335 fish species across coastal locations in Australia, which spanned decades.This study also included data collected through the decades-long Australian Temperate Reef Collaboration monitoring program and the citizen science Reef Life Survey program.But it turns out that while temperature has a significant impact, it causes different fish species to react differently.
Dr Asta Audzijonyte, lead author of the study, from the University of Tasmania, insists that she was surprised by the results.