Posted in | News | Climate Change | Ecosystems

Climate Change Could Alter Chemical Communication Among Ocean Creatures

Telecommunications networks span the globe, allowing people to quickly and effortlessly exchange information. Undersea chemical communication among marine life is just as complex, but not as well understood.

According to a feature article in Chemical & Engineering News, an independent news outlet of the American Chemical Society, climate change could alter the transmission and receipt of chemical signals by ocean creatures, potentially affecting the delicate balance of undersea ecosystems or causing entire species to disappear.

Improved analytical techniques are helping pin down the thousands of molecules that ocean organisms use to communicate, according to freelance writer Carolyn Wilke. These chemical signals help creatures find food or mates, care for their eggs or avoid predators. With increasing carbon dioxide levels, and the resulting ocean acidification, some marine organisms could become less sensitive to these cues, or the molecules themselves could become altered chemically or conformationally. To help protect ocean ecosystems, scientists are trying to understand the myriad molecules and mechanisms that underlie marine communication networks.

Sensitive new techniques have allowed researchers to identify molecules that had previously gone unrecognized because they're so dilute in water. Other studies suggest that ocean acidification could change the shapes of peptides that female shore crabs use as cues to care for their eggs, causing the crabs to not ventilate their eggs as frequently. Although many studies have reported changes in fishes' sense of smell and behavior with increased carbon dioxide levels, recent controversy over some papers' methodology for monitoring behavioral changes has muddied the waters. Nonetheless, researchers continue to study the effects of climate change on chemical communication throughout multiple levels of the ocean food chain, hoping to inform policy makers about conservation efforts to protect ecosystems. 

A version of this story first appeared in ACS Central Science.

The article, "Climate Change Could Alter Undersea Chemical Communication", is freely available here

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.