Becoming nose-blind-Climate change impacts on chemical communication.

• Published in: Global Change Biology
• Main Authors: Roggatz, Christina C, Saha, Mahasweta, Blanchard, Solène, Schirrmacher, Paula, Fink, Patrick, Verheggen, François, Hardege, Jörg D
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2022
• Subjects: behavior; chemoreception; climate change stressor; ecological interactions; infochemicals; ocean acidification; semiochemicals; sensory ecology; General Environmental Science; Ecology; Environmental Chemistry; Global and Planetary Change; Life sciences; Aquatic sciences & oceanology; Zoology; Social & behavioral sciences; psychology; Animal psychology; ethology & psychobiology; Sciences du vivant; Sciences aquatiques & océanologie; Zoologie; Sciences sociales & comportementales; psychologie; Psychologie animale; éthologie & psychobiologie; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/292376; https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/292376/1/Roggatzetal2022.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16209

peer reviewed Chemical communication via infochemicals plays a pivotal role in ecological interactions, allowing organisms to sense their environment, locate predators, food, habitats, or mates. A growing number of studies suggest that climate change-associated stressors can modify these chemically mediated interactions, causing info-disruption that scales up to the ecosystem level. However, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms is scarce. Evidenced by a range of examples, we illustrate in this opinion piece that climate change affects different realms in similar patterns, from molecular to ecosystem-wide levels. We assess the importance of different stressors for terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems and propose a systematic approach to address highlighted knowledge gaps and cross-disciplinary research avenues.