A new study released by the University of British Columbia revealed that many species of fish will not be able to retain their body weight as waters become warmer. LiveScience reported that after studying over 600 types of fish, scientists concluded that the average maximum size for fish could drop up to 24 percent by 2050.
The study's lead author, William Cheung, said in a statement, "We were surprised to see such a large decrease in fish size. Marine fish are generally known to respond to climate change through changing distribution and seasonality."
Cheung added, "But the unexpectedly big effect that climate change could have on body size suggests that we may be missing a big piece of the puzzle of understanding climate change effects in the ocean."
According to LiveScience, studies show that higher temperatures directly affect cold-blooded animals and warmer temperatures could cause animals to reach maturity at smaller sizes.
Daniel Pauly, another researcher in the study, said, "A warmer and less-oxygenated ocean, as predicted under climate change, would make it more difficult for bigger fish to get enough oxygen, which means they will stop growing sooner."
As fish grow, they depend on getting more oxygen to continue growing, the study found. The change in size could influence fish's ability to reproduce successfully and could affect its role in a food change, LiveScience reported.
Researchers warned that these changes among many different species could have series effects on fisheries, food security and ocean ecosystems. The Los Angeles Times also reported that other factors, such as overfishing and pollution, could also aversely affect fish populations.
Species found in the tropics and temperate regions would be the most affected by rising ocean temperatures, scientists found.
The study will be published this week in the Nature Climate Change journal.
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