Are Clown Fish becoming unable to hear? according to a recent study that the waters of which the Clownfish live are becoming more acidic due to the more CO2 the oceans are absorbing. Scientists did a study earlier study back in 2009 that if the acidity levels get to high, the Clownfish stop being able to sense their predators.
They tested this by taking a group of Clownfish, placing them in a small tube where there was a speaker at one end, and an open hole at the other, allowing escape. They tested this at today's acidity levels (390 ppm (part per million)) and at acidity levels over the next century if the CO2 absorption rate continues (600, 700, and 900 ppm). At todays levels, most Clownfish swum away from the speaker, but when the acidity levels where high, they started getting confused and some didn't even move at all, seemingly unable to sense anything.
How ever, the researchers said, if it took a few decades to reach the higher level acidity, then the fish could be able to adapt. But, most likely, researchers say that most corals (which the fish live in or near) could be in trouble, within this century.
Here's the report I used, feel free to read it here: Link
~W
