Climate Change Angers Fish

Environmentalists aren’t the only group enraged by rising global temperatures; climate change is linked to increased fish aggression, according to researchers from the University of New South Wales. Scientists analyzed how the behavior of young reef fish changed according to the temperature of their surroundings. They found fish acted more boldly in warmer water, suggesting a slight increase in temperature could make fish up to 30 times more aggressive. According to study leader Dr. Peter Biro, this correlation could also apply to more dangerous species: “I would imagine that it might also affect sharks…we think it is linked to the metabolism of the fishes—it increases their need to feed.” This research is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.