Experts test how fish cope with climate change

Original story by Kirsty Nancarrow, ABC News

Researchers from James Cook University in north Queensland and the Australian National University are hoping to prove mature fish can adapt to cope with climate change.

They are measuring how damsel fish respond when placed in calm and turbulent tanks at the Lizard Island Research Station off far north Queensland.

PhD student Sandra Binning says the adult fish will be tested after one month to see how they are reacting to simulated changes in weather patterns.

“We know that with little fish that are very small we can rear them in different conditions and have them develop into athletes or lazy fish per se,” she said.

“Now this is exactly what we’re testing with this – whether we can take adult fish that have already been living out on the reef in conditions for many, many months, but whether we can take them into the lab and train them and try to get them to change and become better athletes.

She says reefs are changing.

“There’s a lot more areas where there are fish that used to be in areas that were relatively calm are now being subjected to more and more waves and more and more water motions,” she said.

“What we’re trying to understand is whether or not that’s going to be a problem for the fish or whether or not they’re able to adapt or really develop into these really different athlete fish that can survive in those habitats.”