Latest news with #Versteeg
LeMonde
28-05-2025
- Science
- LeMonde
Shrinking to survive: Clownfish adapt to climate change by getting smaller
It is often said that size does not matter… but clownfish prove otherwise. In terms of hierarchy, for example, these fish form small clans – consisting of a breeding pair and a few subordinates – where size determines social rank. "The breeding female is the largest of them all, and she rules over the territory of the anemone [around which the group lives]," said Melissa Versteeg, a researcher at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Next comes the breeding male, who is slightly smaller, followed by the subordinates, juvenile fish who would be wise not to outgrow their superiors. "That could disrupt the established hierarchy," added Versteeg. "To minimize the risk of social conflict, a lower-ranking clownfish will therefore maintain a size that is about 80% of that of its immediate superior." The researcher, who focuses extensively on these questions of size, recently made a surprising discovery: Clownfish can shrink during marine heatwaves, which increases their short-term chances of survival. To obtain these results, published Thursday, May 22, in Science Advances, the researchers donned their wetsuits to observe breeding pairs of Pacific clownfish living in the coral reefs of Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. At that time, between February and August 2023, a severe global coral bleaching event was underway, during which sea temperatures in the study area exceeded 32°C.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
An extreme ocean heat wave did something remarkable to these fish
During a severe heat wave in 2023, scientists scuba diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea captured clownfish to measure their bodies. Between February and August, they calculated the length of 134 of these iconic, orange and white fish once a month, taking a total of six measurements for each fish. Those measurements revealed something peculiar: Most of the fish shrank. This week, the researchers reported their findings in Science Advances, concluding that the fish got shorter — on the scale of a few millimeters, or a small, single-digit percent of their length — in response to the heat wave. 'We were so surprised to see shrinking in these fish that, to be sure, we measured each fish individual repeatedly over a period of five months,' said Melissa Versteeg, a doctoral researcher at Newcastle University, who led the study in collaboration with Mahonia Na Dari, an environmental organization, and Walindi Resort. 'In the end, we discovered [that downsizing] was very common in this population.' Versteeg and her colleagues don't know how, exactly, the fish are shrinking — one untested idea is that the fish might be reabsorbing some of their bone material or tissue. But getting smaller isn't a problem. In fact, the study found, it may be an adaptation to help clownfish survive hotter ocean temperatures. Morgan Bennett-Smith Last year, the planet was about 2.65 degrees warmer than it was in the late 1800s. This level of warming impacts wild animals in a number of strange, mostly bad, ways, from fueling koala-killing wildfires to causing corals to bleach and then starve. But rising temperatures also appear to be making many species smaller. One especially striking study, published in 2019, found that birds shrank by an average of about 2.6 percent between 1978 and 2016. More recent analyses have linked rising temperatures to a reduction in body size of small mammals in North America and marine fish. Most of these existing studies report that animals, on average, are simply not growing as large. The new study on clownfish, however, suggests individual fish are shrinking over mere weeks in response to a heat wave, which, in the case of the Papua New Guinea event, pushed temperatures in the bay about 7 degrees (4 degrees Celsius) above average. Being tiny has its advantages in a hot climate: Warm-blooded animals, like mammals, shed heat more easily when they're small and this helps them cool down. The benefits for cold-blooded creatures, such as clownfish, aren't as clear, though researchers think they may have an easier time meeting their bodies' energy requirements when they're small. Morgan Bennett-Smith Regardless of the reason, being small seems to help clownfish when it's hot. The fish that shrank, the study found, had a much higher chance of surviving. 'It was a surprise to see how rapidly clownfish can adapt to a changing environment,' Versteeg said. 'We witnessed how flexibly they regulated their size, as individuals and as breeding pairs, in response to heat stress as a successful technique to help them survive.' The study adds a layer of complexity to what is otherwise a depressing tale about the world's oceans. Heat waves linked to climate change, like the one that occurred during this study, are utterly devastating coral reefs — and in severe cases, are nearly wiping out entire reef sections. These colorful ecosystems are home to countless marine animals, including those we eat, like snappers, and clownfish. Amid that loss, animals are proving highly resilient. They're trying hard to hold on. Yet if warming continues, even the best adaptations may not be enough.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘Nemo' may have developed an unexpected survival tactic
NEWCASTLE, England – The brightly colored fish made famous by the movie "Finding Nemo" have developed an unexpected survival tactic that researchers say may help them combat rising ocean temperatures. According to a study published in the journal Science Advances, university researchers discovered that clownfish reduce their body size in response to marine heat waves - a behavior that significantly improves their chances of survival. Over a five-month period, scientists recorded the length of 134 clownfish during a marine heat wave in Oceania. Researchers said nearly three-quarters of the fish shrank in size, suggesting the presence of a widespread adaptive response. "It was a surprise to see how rapidly clownfish can adapt to a changing environment and we witnessed how flexibly they regulated their size, as individuals and as breeding pairs, in response to heat stress as a successful technique to help them survive," Melissa Versteeg, a Ph.D. researcher at England's Newcastle University and lead author of the study, said in a statement. Coral Babies Head To Florida Keys To Help Restore Dying Reefs According to the study, shrinking increased a clownfish's chances of surviving extreme heat by as much as 78%. Clownfish are not the only marine creature known to exhibit the behavior. Researchers noted that other species, including marine iguanas, shrink under environmental stress by reabsorbing some of their bone material. "This is not just about getting skinnier under stressful conditions," Versteeg said. "These fish are actually getting shorter." Scientists believe this decrease in body size may result in a lower metabolism, reducing the organism's need for food. Wife Killed In Alligator Attack In Central Florida While Canoeing With Her Husband Dr. Theresa Rueger, a lecturer in tropical marine sciences at Newcastle University and senior author of the study, said the findings may help explain the broader global trend of shrinking fish sizes. "Our findings show that individual fish can shrink in response to heat stress, which is further impacted by social conflict, and that shrinking can lead to improving their chances of survival. If individual shrinking were widespread and happening among different species of fish, it could provide a plausible alternative hypothesis for why the size many fish species is declining and further studies are needed in this area," Rueger stated. The study did not indicate whether corals, a vital component of many marine ecosystems, possess similar shrinking abilities to adapt to warming article source: 'Nemo' may have developed an unexpected survival tactic
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘Shrinking Nemo': Study finds clownfish can shrink to survive higher sea temperatures
Clownfish, a small orange and white species made famous by the 'Finding Nemo' movies, have been found to shrink in order to boost their chances of surviving marine heat waves, according to a new study. Working at a conservation center in Papua New Guinea, a team led by scientists from Newcastle University, England, monitored 134 clownfish over a period of five months during a marine heat wave in 2023, according to a statement from the university published Wednesday. Study lead author Melissa Versteeg, a PhD student at Newcastle University, measured the length of each fish every month, as well as taking the water temperature every 4-6 days. Versteeg found that the fish would get shorter as temperatures rose, the first time that a coral reef fish has been found to shrink when environmental conditions change. 'I was very surprised by the findings,' Versteeg told CNN on Thursday, adding that the clownfish displayed 'incredible growth plasticity.' 'We're seeing that they have a great capacity to respond to what the environment throws at them,' she said. This is particularly relevant because marine heat waves are becoming increasingly common as climate change intensifies, with serious impacts on coral reefs and other marine life. Of the 134 clownfish studied, 100 got shorter, the team found, and this shrinking increased their chances of surviving the heat stress by up to 78%. Senior study author Theresa Rueger, a marine ecologist at Newcastle University, told CNN that shrinking is not necessarily a good thing as small fish reproduce less, which could be bad for the population. 'But our study also found that because they can shrink and they have this great growth plasticity, they survive better during marine heatwaves,' she said. 'That could be a very positive thing, that they have that capacity and can adapt to their circumstances in that way.' A small number of other animals are also capable of shrinking, including marine iguanas, which are able to reabsorb bone material to become smaller during times of environmental stress, said Versteeg in the statement. The team also found that clownfish which shrank at the same time as their breeding partner had a higher chance of survival. This is because of the balance of power between the female, which is the larger and more dominant, and the male, they explained. If a female starts to shrink, the male will also shrink in order to prevent social conflict and reduce the possibility of a confrontation that he would always lose. This is important because clownfish live symbiotically with either of two sea anemone species – Heteractis magnifica and Stichodactyla gigantea. The anemones provide protection for the clownfish which are 'bad swimmers,' said Rueger. 'If they leave the anemone they have very little time before they get eaten, frankly,' she added, which means it is important for them not to fight with their partner and risk being forced out into the open sea. The symbiotic relationship with their home anemone is another reason why clownfish are so fascinating, said Versteeg. 'They don't move, that's where they're at. You're able to just track them over time, and they're uniquely marked and they're relatively easy to catch,' she said. 'You really know who you're dealing with, and you can really follow them over extensive periods of time, which is unique,' added Versteeg. Next up, the team plans to investigate the mechanisms behind this capacity to grow and shrink depending on environmental conditions, as well as looking into whether other fish species are also able to do so. 'If individual shrinking were widespread and happening among different species of fish, it could provide a plausible alternative hypothesis for why the size (of) many fish species is declining,' said Rueger in the statement. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
CNN
22-05-2025
- Science
- CNN
‘Shrinking Nemo': Study finds clownfish can shrink to survive higher sea temperatures
Clownfish, a small orange and white species made famous by the 'Finding Nemo' movies, have been found to shrink in order to boost their chances of surviving marine heat waves, according to a new study. Working at a conservation center in Papua New Guinea, a team led by scientists from Newcastle University, England, monitored 134 clownfish over a period of five months during a marine heat wave in 2023, according to a statement from the university published Wednesday. Study lead author Melissa Versteeg, a PhD student at Newcastle University, measured the length of each fish every month, as well as taking the water temperature every 4-6 days. Versteeg found that the fish would get shorter as temperatures rose, the first time that a coral reef fish has been found to shrink when environmental conditions change. 'I was very surprised by the findings,' Versteeg told CNN on Thursday, adding that the clownfish displayed 'incredible growth plasticity.' 'We're seeing that they have a great capacity to respond to what the environment throws at them,' she said. This is particularly relevant because marine heat waves are becoming increasingly common as climate change intensifies, with serious impacts on coral reefs and other marine life. Of the 134 clownfish studied, 100 got shorter, the team found, and this shrinking increased their chances of surviving the heat stress by up to 78%. Senior study author Theresa Rueger, a marine ecologist at Newcastle University, told CNN that shrinking is not necessarily a good thing as small fish reproduce less, which could be bad for the population. 'But our study also found that because they can shrink and they have this great growth plasticity, they survive better during marine heatwaves,' she said. 'That could be a very positive thing, that they have that capacity and can adapt to their circumstances in that way.' A small number of other animals are also capable of shrinking, including marine iguanas, which are able to reabsorb bone material to become smaller during times of environmental stress, said Versteeg in the statement. The team also found that clownfish which shrank at the same time as their breeding partner had a higher chance of survival. This is because of the balance of power between the female, which is the larger and more dominant, and the male, they explained. If a female starts to shrink, the male will also shrink in order to prevent social conflict and reduce the possibility of a confrontation that he would always lose. This is important because clownfish live symbiotically with either of two sea anemone species – Heteractis magnifica and Stichodactyla gigantea. The anemones provide protection for the clownfish which are 'bad swimmers,' said Rueger. 'If they leave the anemone they have very little time before they get eaten, frankly,' she added, which means it is important for them not to fight with their partner and risk being forced out into the open sea. The symbiotic relationship with their home anemone is another reason why clownfish are so fascinating, said Versteeg. 'They don't move, that's where they're at. You're able to just track them over time, and they're uniquely marked and they're relatively easy to catch,' she said. 'You really know who you're dealing with, and you can really follow them over extensive periods of time, which is unique,' added Versteeg. Next up, the team plans to investigate the mechanisms behind this capacity to grow and shrink depending on environmental conditions, as well as looking into whether other fish species are also able to do so. 'If individual shrinking were widespread and happening among different species of fish, it could provide a plausible alternative hypothesis for why the size (of) many fish species is declining,' said Rueger in the statement. The study was published in the journal Science Advances.
