Future of the Clownfish

Even with all the evidence pointing to the damaging effects of climate change, the future for the clownfish remains unclear. What is evident is that without an attempt at mitigation, the clownfish population will experience a massive decrease in fitness and very likely a large decline in their numbers.



Below is a graph from the International Energy Agency projecting energy usage and sources up until 2030. The basic message is that not only are our CO2 emissions not projected to decrease, they will very likely increase drastically within the next 20 years.

http://www.iea.org/textbase/country/graphs/weo_2007/Fig01-01.jgp

Possible Mitigation Strategies

• Reforestation/Carbon Sequestration: Since plants are some of the world's primary carbon sinks, it makes sense that an increase in plant cover would pull more CO2 out of the atmosphere. A decrease in CO2 in the atmosphere would lower the rate of ocean acidification. Additionally, it may decrease the rate of temperature increase. Unfortunately, reforestation alone will not mitigate the effects of climate change. Ocean acidification will continue even with a decrease in CO2 output because ocean acidification greatly lags behind the increase in CO2. 

• Combat Ocean Acidification: There are many ideas of how to best mitigate ocean acidification. Among prevalent ideas, the most popular are the addition of iron, adding extra carbonate in the form of limestone and attempting to increase the alkalinity of the water. At this point, though, there is not enough research on any of these options to confidently say that they would be effective or that they would not cause indirect damage to the ecosystem. 

• Decrease Carbon Emissions: The number one mitigation technique would be to decrease our carbon emissions all together. This can be done through many means. We could create more energy efficient/cleaner vehicles and make a conscious effort to use more efficient energy in our every day lifestyles. Additionally, a change in our transportation techniques from personal car usage to mass transportation could have significant positive impacts. We could also decrease our reliance on mass agriculture and increase reliance on local foods to cut down in emissions from long distance transportation of foods. 

(Metz 2001, Ocean Acidification 2005)

Without immediate action, the fish that inspired Nemo may disappear from our oceans all together. Future generations may only have a cartoon to remind them of the beauty of the clownfish. Though big mitigation strategies may be years away, the general population can make a difference through little changes. Try to reduce your energy usage, even if just a little. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.