Sharks are going to starve to death!
And it’s all our fault!
Sorry, pal.
Hey everyone, I’m Chastity, the Associate Producer for DNews.
Say what you want about climate change, but the fact still remains that levels of carbon
dioxide are rising fast in our atmosphere.
And its causing major concerns for marine life.
As the oceans absorb more CO2 from the air, the waters become more acidic.
The latest report on greenhouse gases from the World Meteorological Organization shows
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rose at an alarming rate last year, shattering
previous records.
And for the first time, the annual report on greenhouse gases included figures on ocean
acidification.
The WMO says the rate of acidification is now “unprecedented, at least over the past
300,000 years.”
If ocean acidification continues at its current pace, a new study published in Global Change
Biology says that sharks could lose their ability to sense the smell of food.
For the study, researchers from Georgia Tech tested the odor-tracking behaviors of the
smooth dogfish, a shark native to the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern United States.
They placed the dogfish in swimming pools treated with carbon dioxide.
The CO2 concentrations tested matched the projected climate forecasts for midcentury
and the year 2100.
Researchers found that the adult sharks significantly avoided squid odor after swimming in the CO2
treated pools.
The sharks’ tracking and attacking behavior were significantly reduced.
Sharks use other senses, like hearing, to track prey, but none is more important than
chemical sensing.
Lead author of the study, Danielle Dixson, says "Sharks are like swimming noses, so chemical
cues are really important for them in terms of finding food."
In the past, sharks have adapted to ocean acidification conditions projected for later
time periods.
But they’ve never had to adapt as quickly as they do today.
Dixson says “It’s the rate of change that’s happening that’s concerning.
Sharks have never had to deal with it this fast.”
Previous research by Dixson and her team has shown that fishes’ sensory systems are also
seriously affected by future CO2 concentrations in the ocean.
Reef fish were less able to detect predator odor when tested in water treated with projected
future CO2 concentrations.
The only problem with the research is that it’s all laboratory based, so it doesn’t
fully represent the potential effects of future ocean acidification.
Regardless, the rising CO2 concentrations in our oceans is still a major problem for
future marine life.
If you wanna know more about climate change realities and solutions, we’re gonna be
tackling those topics with Upworthy and other special guests - and YOU get to take part
in the conversation!
So join us for our first Twitter Upchat this Monday, September 15th, at 11am Eastern Time,
using the hashtag #UpChat.
And follow DNews and UpWorthy for more Climate Change related content.
Thanks for watching!