A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist recently explained how examining Pacific cod raised in a controlled setting can help determine how climate change may impact the species.
Ben Laurel, a scientist with NOAA Fisheries, explained in a May 23 NOAAA article, that climate change is impacting Alaska and the Arctic more rapidly than many other regions, with the Gulf of Alaska particularly increasing in average temperature more quickly.
“Twenty years ago, we did not predict things would be changing this fast,” Laurel said in the article. “Right now, it’s a race to figure out how these processes are impacting marine species in Alaska, like Pacific cod.
The NOAA article added that scientists thought the cod would be able to adapt to climate change as they experience a range of temperatures during their lifespan, spending different parts of their lives in different parts of the water, such as starting life in the cold sea floor before coming up to the warmer surface. Laurel noted the fish could hold clues to the impact climate change has on the species.
"To truly know how climate change is impacting them, we need to figure out if any parts of their life history are particularly vulnerable to warming temperatures," Laurel said in the article.
To do this, Laurel noted fish are raised in a laboratory in a variety of temperatures and their growth rates, survival rates and condition are regularly measured, according to the article.
Laurel concluded the fish were raised in typical conditions and then in higher temperatures to mimic conditions they may experience in the future, the article reported.
