Behavioural responses of fish groups exposed to a predatory threat under elevated CO2

Most of the studies dealing with the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on fish behaviour tested individuals in isolation, even when the examined species live in shoals in the wild. Here we evaluated the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations (i.e. ∼900 μatm) on the shelter use and group cohesion o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Environmental Research
Main Authors: Cattano C., Fine M., Quattrocchi F., Holzman R., Milazzo M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2019
Subjects:
Coral reef fish
Global change
Group fish
Ocean acidification
Predation
Risk assessment
Shelter use
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10447/363411
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2019.04.011
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141113619300546
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Summary:Most of the studies dealing with the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on fish behaviour tested individuals in isolation, even when the examined species live in shoals in the wild. Here we evaluated the effects of elevated CO2 concentrations (i.e. ∼900 μatm) on the shelter use and group cohesion of the gregarious damselfish Chromis viridis using groups of sub-adults exposed to a predatory threat. Results showed that, under predatory threat, fish reared at elevated CO2 concentrations displayed a risky behaviour (i.e. decreased shelter use), whereas their group cohesion was unaffected. Our findings add on increasing evidence to account for social dynamics in OA experiments, as living in groups may compensate for CO2-induced risky behaviour.

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