每日跟讀#601: Climate Breakdown Could Send Crabs And Octopuses Blind

Climate breakdown is already having a massively negative impact on the world’s wildlife. Marine biologists have just demonstrated for the first time that low oxygen levels in the water can send marine invertebrates blind. The research has been published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

「氣候崩壞」已對全球野生生物產生巨大的負面影響。海洋生物學家已首次證明，水中的低含氧量將導致海洋無脊椎動物失明。該研究刊登於《實驗生物學期刊》。

The changes in the animals’ vision were striking. As soon as the oxygen levels dipped below what is typically found at the surface of the ocean, their eyesight declined - most notably in the rock crab and the squid larvae, which were almost completely blind by the time oxygen was at its lowest point - 20 percent of surface levels.

這些動物的視力變化驚人。只要水中含氧量降至低於海水面一般溶氧量，牠們的視力就會下降—視力下降最顯著的是黃道蟹和烏賊幼仔，其置身於最低含氧量（海水面的20％）環境時幾乎全盲。

The oceans have lost a significant amount of oxygen in the last 50 years, with a significant portion of this due to nutrient pollution that leads to algae blooms that deplete the oxygen, and rising temperatures. This could lead to a situation whereby the crabs and cephalopods can no longer easily see the prey they need to catch, nor the predators they need to avoid.

海洋在過去50年內已失去大量氧氣，其中很大一部分肇因於營養鹽污染造成的「藻華」現象，導致氧氣消耗、溫度上升。這些可能讓螃蟹和頭足類動物不再能順利看見牠們需要捕捉的獵物，也無法躲避捕食者。

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1289853