Elevated CO2 levels cause abnormally large otoliths in fish

A study out of Scripps, featured in this week's Science, reports that elevated levels of dissolved carbon dioxide cause the growth of abnormally large otoliths in white seabass.

Rising carbon dioxide levels in the ocean have been shown to adversely affect shell-forming creatures and corals, and now a new study by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has shown for the first time that CO2 can impact a fundamental bodily structure in fish.

A brief paper published in the June 26 issue of the journal Science describes experiments in which fish that were exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide experienced abnormally large growth in their otoliths, or ear bones. Otoliths serve a vital function in fish by helping them sense orientation and acceleration.

Read the press release here.