Pollution can endanger aquatic animals by damaging their sense of smell

By Roberta Kwok

Web edition: February 8, 2013

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Clown fish raised in acidified waters don’t respond properly to smells. For example, they swim toward the scent of a predator instead of away from it.

Credit: Simon Foale, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies

For fish, finding the right home is not the only activity that requires a good sense of smell. Fish also rely on scents to find food, avoid predators and prepare for mating. Recently, scientists discovered that certain environmental changes can endanger the sense of smell in fish. People are dumping pollutants into lakes and rivers. Gases released by cars and factories are changing the ocean’s chemistry. Such chemical changes can sometimes affect fish and other water-dwelling creatures in ways that alter or eliminate an animal’s recognition of important smells. And that can endanger those animals.

Visit the new Science News for Kids website and read the full story: When the nose no longer knows